Journalist

Jeffrey Schweers

Jeffrey Schweers is the Orlando Sentinel’s Tallahassee bureau reporter. He is an award-winning journalist and proud alumnus of the University of Florida. Except for a 5-year stint covering growth and gaming in Las Vegas, he has spent his career reporting on state and local politics in Florida, including as Gannett’s Florida statehouse watchdog and investigative reporter.

Sandy Adams with her mom, Gayle Bojerski, on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025. Bojerski’s husband, Paul John Bojerski, 79, was incarcerated at Alligator Alcatraz until recently, when he was transferred to ICE detention in Miami. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel)

Florida grandfather, born in refugee camp, nabbed by ICE after 70 years in U.S.

November 17, 2025 at 3:58 p.m.

A 79-year-old grandfather found himself in legal limbo in the Alligator Alcatraz detention camp in the Everglades, picked up on a decades-old deportation order authorities had previously chosen not to...

DeSantis signs social media ban for children, a law certain to draw legal challenge

March 25, 2024 at 2:48 p.m.

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed a sweeping social media ban for children that is almost certain to be challenged in court by Big Tech and First Amendment advocates as...

A small group holds signs and waves as cars pass by the Leon County Courthouse. The were protesting SB 300, which bans abortions after six weeks, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the bill Thursday night.

DeSantis’ signing of abortion law could hurt his White House chances, experts say

April 14, 2023 at 8:22 p.m.

Gov. Ron DeSantis' decision to sign one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country could cost him votes if he runs for president, political operatives said Friday, and...

A woman, who is part of a group of immigrants that had just arrived, holds a child as they are fed outside St. Andrews Episcopal Church, Wednesday Sept. 14, 2022, in Edgartown, Mass., on Martha's Vineyard. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday flew two planes of immigrants to Martha's Vineyard, escalating a tactic by Republican governors to draw attention to what they consider to be the Biden administration's failed border policies. (Ray Ewing/Vineyard Gazette via AP)

Critics blast DeSantis for flying Texas migrants to Martha’s Vineyard

March 11, 2024 at 1:15 p.m.

TALLAHASSEE — Flying more than 50 refugees from Texas to Martha's Vineyard is the latest political stunt by Gov. Ron DeSantis using federal tax dollars to build national support for...

Left to Right, Special Olympian Brett Harper, ATF Agent Warren Newman, and Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings pose for a photo with the torch —
Special Olympics athletes accompanied by law enforcement officers bring the Flame of Hope to Orlando City Hall, on Thursday, June 2, 2022.
The 2022 Special Olympics USA Games Law Enforcement Torch Run began in Soldier Field in Chicago, the site of the first Special Olympics in 1968.
(Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/ Orlando Sentinel)

Special Olympics drops COVID vaccine mandate after Florida threatens $27.5M fine

June 23, 2022 at 8:04 p.m.

Florida threatened to fine Special Olympics International $27.5 million for requiring 5,500 participants at the USA Games in Orlando to be vaccinated against COVID, prompting the organization to drop the...

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signs the Parental Rights in Education bill at Classical Preparatory school Monday, March 28, 2022 in Shady Hills, Fla. (Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signs ‘don’t say gay’ bill into law

March 29, 2022 at 4:04 p.m.

Rejecting criticism that it would harm the LGBTQ community, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law Monday the controversial measure derided as the "don't say gay" bill. "We will make sure...

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