FAC Weekly Update 2026-08-12-Monumental Lawsuit Filed by FAC

Weekly update for August 12, 2026. This is recording number 386.

Dear Members and Advocates,

WE DID IT!!!

Yesterday, August 11, 2026, the Florida Action Committee filed the most significant legal challenge to Florida’s sex offender registry ever undertaken, and potentially one of the most consequential registry challenges ever filed in the United States.

The case, Florida Action Committee v. Mark Glass, et al., was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida. The case number is 4:26-cv-00388 and it was assigned to Judge Mark Walker.

This is the moment we have been working toward for months… Years, actually.

As we have explained over the past several weeks, this is not another lawsuit challenging one particular registry law, one particular local ordinance, or one particular defendant. The complaint asks the Court to look at the registry as it exists today, after nearly three decades of legislative expansion and the proliferation of local restrictions. What began as a system of public notification has evolved into something vastly different: lifetime registration, residency restrictions, presence restrictions, reporting requirements, travel restrictions, speech restrictions and criminal penalties for minor technical violations of often vague rules – all imposed on people who, in many cases, completed their criminal sentences decades ago.

The question at the heart of this case is a simple one: At what point does a supposedly “civil regulatory system” become unconstitutional punishment?

The complaint presents six separate constitutional claims. It argues that the cumulative registry scheme violates: (1) The Eighth Amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment; (2) The Ex Post Facto Clause, when restrictions enacted after an individual’s offense are applied retroactively; (3) The constitutional right to interstate travel; (4) The constitutional right to remain in public places for innocent purposes; (5) The Due Process Clause’s prohibition against vague criminal laws; and (6) The First Amendment right to free speech.

The lawsuit also challenges numerous county and municipal ordinances that impose additional restrictions on registrants. And that is important. Florida’s registry isn’t just one law. It is a complicated web of state statutes, county ordinances and municipal restrictions. The complaint recognizes that challenging only one piece of that system could leave the rest of the machinery intact.

The complaint documents the real-world consequences of that system, including housing instability, homelessness, barriers to employment, interference with family life and restrictions on movement, employment and travel. The Constitution does not disappear simply because someone has a criminal record and public safety and constitutional rights are not mutually exclusive.

FAC is not asking the Court to excuse criminal conduct. We are asking whether the government can continue imposing punishment indefinitely after a person has completed the sentence imposed by a judge, and whether it can continue adding new restrictions decades later.

Yesterday was the beginning of what will be a huge battle. There will be motions, responses, hearings and, almost certainly, appeals. There are 51 defendants (the State – via FDLE, and 50 municipalities) who will fight this case tooth and nail and we expect them to. That is why we retained a firm and assembled a legal team capable of taking this case as far as necessary – even to the Supreme Court.

The complaint itself is 61 pages and addresses the history, structure and practical consequences of Florida’s registry before presenting the constitutional claims. The exhibits and expert declarations are more than 100 pages more. This is THE lawsuit!

This case belongs to all of us. If you are on the registry or have a loved one who is, this is your case. For more than 15 years of our existence, FAC members have told us about being unable to find housing, being separated from family, losing jobs, being unable to travel, being afraid of accidentally violating an obscure requirement and feeling as though a sentence that ended years ago never actually ended.

For more than 15 years we have collected your stories. We have documented the consequences. We have researched the laws. We have compiled the research. And now, we have packaged it all neatly in a lawsuit and put the entire system before a federal court.

This lawsuit was made possible by FAC members, donors, volunteers, advocates and everyone who refused to accept that the status quo must continue forever. FAC has spent a very long time preparing for this moment. Now we need to be prepared for everything that comes next. With 51 defendants, there will be a lot! What we need more than anything at this point is contributions to sustain the fight. Many of you have pitched in and we appreciate it greatly. Our hope (and faith in our membership) is that now that the lawsuit has been filed and now that you can read it and understand the magnitude, you’ll see what we (all of us, including yourselves) have accomplished by working together. You can make a contribution to our General Legal Fund by clicking here. 100% of your donation goes directly to your lawsuit.

It’s going to be a whirlwind, so lets go!!!

United we stand,

The Florida Action Committee

You can read the complaint here: https://floridaactioncommittee.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/FAC-v-Glass-ET-AL.pdf

You can follow the case here: https://floridaactioncommittee.org/teams/legal-committee/fac-v-glass-et-al/ (a link will remain on our website under ‘Committees’ ‘Legal’