FAC Weekly Update: It’s Halloween Hysteria Time Again!
Weekly update for October 27, 2026. This is recording number 401.
Dear Members and Advocates,
It’s that time of year again! Decorations are up in the neighborhood, candy is all over store shelves, and the annual Halloween hysteria surrounding people on the registry is in full swing. For registered citizens, this means heightened scrutiny, police compliance checks, and headlines designed to scare the public rather than demonstrably protect it.
Every year, we hear warnings about the supposed dangers registrants pose to trick-or-treaters. But where is the evidence of a Halloween epidemic of sexual abuse? You don’t see the same warnings about traffic accidents, but a study published in JAMA Pediatrics found an average of four additional pedestrian deaths on Halloween evenings compared with control evenings. You don’t see legislation addressing safer streets, better visibility, or responsible driving.
You also don’t see people with DUI convictions in their history being forced to stay at home, lights off and a sign on their door saying, “No candy, treats or beverages,” yet a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study reported that nearly half of all crash fatalities during Halloween night in 2024 were alcohol-related.
Thankfully, this year will be better than prior years for some on the registry, because several communities that previously required people on the registry to post signs warning children to stay away lost in legal challenges to the ordinances. For communities that still have them, the writing is on the wall, and we encourage registrants there to challenge them (through competent counsel). We also encourage registrants to challenge the myths when you encounter them in the media. Post comments on the source articles asking for evidence. Ask what these restrictions accomplish. And share Jill Levenson’s article, “Halloween & Sex Crime: Myth vs. Reality,” so that you have the facts to challenge the myths.
In other news, we now have a total of 48 Motions to Dismiss to respond to in FAC v. Keefe. On October 26, Judge Mark Walker issued an order granting FAC’s request for additional time to respond to the defendants’ numerous motions to dismiss, sever, and transfer the case. The Court also agreed with FAC and the defendants who addressed the issue that discovery should be paused until the pending motions are resolved. This is a procedural step, not a ruling on the merits of FAC’s constitutional challenges.
The Court has divided the briefing into two phases. FAC must first respond to arguments seeking to sever and transfer claims against municipalities located outside the Northern District of Florida by November 16, 2026. A second consolidated response addressing the remaining arguments for dismissal is due December 18, 2026. These deadlines give the legal team a structured opportunity to address the defendants’ arguments, with the court considering the venue and transfer issues before turning to the broader dismissal challenges.
There’s A LOT going on at FAC. Our legal team is preparing to meet its deadlines as it works to challenge Florida’s registry laws. Our Legislative team is strategizing for the next legislative session, focusing on youthful offenders and elderly offenders. Our membership committee has added 47 new members to FAC so far this month, and we are printing new brochures to go out in the communities. Our media committee is speaking to journalists across the world and continuing to put out content that will resonate with an audience outside the advocacy world. And many of our members are taking advantage of the support groups and meet and greets that we organize.
With all that we have going on, there’s one thing we hope for every member this Halloween: a quiet, uneventful holiday. We hope you can enjoy the day with your families without embarrassing compliance checks, unnecessary attention from local news outlets, or the vandalism and harassment that too often accompany this time of year. You deserve to live your lives in peace, just like everyone else. So, stay safe, look out for one another, and remember that FAC will keep fighting for a future where Halloween is just Halloween—not another night to worry about being targeted because of your past.
Sincerely,
The Florida Action Committee
As of 10/16/2026, we are at 81% of our fundraising goal for this lawsuit! Help get us to the finish line by making a donation here. You can also make a tax-deductible donation to the Florida Action Foundation, Inc. (a 501(c)(3) entity) earmarked for this challenge by contacting [email protected].
SOME HEADLINES FROM THE WEEK
Florida’s Registry: Fear or Facts?
Estonia Gets It. When Will America Catch Up?
But Did Anyone Check the Distance to the Nearest Playground?
Another Unfortunate Ending to an Unfortunate Situation
Discover more from Florida Action Committee (FAC)
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I already had probation come by yesterday, put me in handcuffs and search my house(which I own), in front of my mother who lives with me. I expect them to check on me on Halloween as they do every year. Usually 4 of them show up
Machiavelli
Even when I was on house arrest, they never handcuffed me. The probation officer did the same, had 3 city cops and two deputies tear apart my house as a neighbor told them I had porn. When I was found to not have anything in my house out the ordinary, the probation officer apologized and said that “We had to follow up on the tip”. I never had another raid after that.
But I spent the entire day fixing all the damage and putting things away from law enforcement. As soon as I was off house arrest I moved to another county. 20 years later not a single law enforcement officer has been nasty to me in my new place, never came in my house. I basically open the door, say hi, and a “See you in six months”.
Guess I could understand the Halloween decorations. i just don’t understand the not having Christmas Decorations!!
Jerry
If the Christmas decorations are religious, I think that would be a constitutional right. For example, a Nativity scene in the front yard. But not giving advice I am just stating with a good lawyer that follows the law would easily have to reversed. I had a conversation with my probation officer about that when I was on paperwork and she seemed to err on the side of NO. So even though I believe I had the right, it was not that big a deal but if she had said I couldn’t attend church I would have called the lawyer.
I’ve decorated for Christmas for many years, never had any problems with it. I was omitted from the city’s list of Christmas lights to see but didn’t even know it existed til a friend pointed it out. Do some cities in Florida not allow it?
Hernando ordinances say you cannot, and I won’t test that. I will decorate in Colorado, where the officer says he has a COSPD ornament for my tree waiting upon my return after I told him this! He just couldnt imagine that.
The Sex Offense Registries exist to pacify idiots and Karens/Darens. That is the real reason they exist. Then once the $$$$$$$$$$ started flowing, all the boot lickers who love big, big, big government, and other grifters, really leaned in so they could create, grow, and nurture the biggest gravy train and jobs programs they could build. No one is going to let go of the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ without fighting to keep and grow it ever bigger.
The Registries are for idiots. Which is why I kind of like the Halloween stupidity because it illustrates it so well. I love it when the Registry idiots clearly demonstrate just how dumb they are. They do it very often. They couldn’t be happy with their Registry toy just “informing” the public (as they incessantly lied), so they have to keep playing with it.
But, it’s offensive. Registry Supporters are enemies of my family. I’m not going to let them get off on me. So around Halloween, I don’t allow any Registry-related contact with my family for any reason. I never let LE or any other big government employees just drop by anyway. But definitely won’t around Halloween. They won’t see me.
On Halloween itself, they will not have any idea where I am or what I am doing. They can try to watch, use their Flock surveillance, whatever, and in fact, I pray that they do because I love wasting their resources. But I promise they won’t know anything. I guess they need more fascist laws.
The Registries deserve nothing but contempt and disrespect. They are an abomination supported by terrible “people”, enemies of Americans.
Amen! There has to be money behind this hysteria, and we need to identify its source and confront it at the root. Otherwise, we keep attacking the small branches while the political machinery driving the damage continues unchecked. Are we applying any pressure at the source? I suspect there is a well-placed agitator, perhaps a major donor or influential advocate, whose personal agenda or vendetta has captured the attention of people who have never bothered to examine the facts for themselves or are driven by a mistaken fear of their ignorance.
In a country that prides itself on freedom, we have disenfranchised a whole group of people, first by race, and now by mistakes in life, people, children, husbands, fathers, grandfathers and veterans that have errored outside the standards set in place by communities, many of those appliable only in America. As a result, we have the largest prison population in the world.
We constantly talk about “common sense” in politics, yet we fail to apply it to the registry. More importantly, that message is not reaching the average citizen.
The fact that the one-registry and the punishment it imposes sweeps together offenses ranging from public urination to human trafficking is not common sense. The fact that much of the legislation was passed as “anti-trafficking,” yet is applied to nudity, streaking, selfies, and other private misbehavior is not common sense. The fact that we are building a database too large to manage or be useful is not common sense. [moderated]. The felony sentencing of those who miss an administrative restriction without intent is not common sense. The misuse of the term “pedophile” to inflame fear and hysteria, is shaming, and not legally accurate, is not common sense. The constitutional principles of life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and full participation in society, including the right to vote, are somehow ignored, and that is not common sense. The fact that punishment does not end with release from “time served” is not common sense. The federal bureaucracy of SMART, the Marshall’s Service, and State centered around a swollen budget when no need exists at that level is not good use of our taxes and is not common sense. The Federal dollars used to incentivize small agencies to equip and fund sting and entrapment operations catching many low level lonely-hearts and further incentivize vigilantism and violence is not common sense. The ignorance of judges that support that the registry and legal restrictions on life is not additional punishment is not common sense. The isolation from the community for those trying to rebuild in the community is not common sense. The homelessness and poverty created by these policies are not common sense. The fearmongering and the public’s apathy are not common sense. The low recidivism rates for those on the registry are not common sense. The need to control the lives of tier one and two registrants when police records already manage pictures, DNA, and fingerprints is not common sense. The overwhelming opposition from academic researchers and subject-matter experts is not common sense. Restrictions on parks, beaches, housing, jobs, and countless other aspects of daily life that are unsupported by evidence are not common sense. Signs posted on personal property and sexual deviant designations on license plates, driver’s licenses, and passports is not only degrading but is shaming and not common sense. Shame on those at the local, state, and federals levels that voted these into use.
So, the question is: What are we, as those directly affected by these policies, not doing that could bring common sense back into the conversation? How do we reach our neighbors, our communities, voters, our politicians, and our judges with facts instead of fear? Is our present one court and one state and zero national strategy working?
Bo
After looking at a chart of the world, it seems El Salvador incarcerates the most people. How ever it did not say what the population of the prisoners were. Pretty sure If I was in prison (And I have been) I would take the U.S over El Salvador any day. Just saying.
The distinction is important: the United States has the largest total number of incarcerated people, but El Salvador has the higher incarceration rate per capita.
Using recent prison-population data:
Country Total Prison Population Population
United States About 1.8 million incarcerated people About 340 million
El Salvador About 109,519 incarcerated people (March 2024) About 6.6 million
Raw Numbers
The U.S. has roughly: 1,808,100 ÷ 109,519 ≈ 16.5
So the United States has about 16½ times more people in prison than El Salvador in absolute numbers.
Unrelated to Halloween, but does anyone know about the new META accounts? I only have Facebook and Instagram (that I don’t use but registered), but I got an email from Meta saying they created a new META account to cover all the Meta accounts. Just a heads up as this might be an easy trap for an account we have but may not know it…
I contacted FAC via email last week but haven’t heard back, might be something they’re already looking at?