PULSE: A Timeline for Accountability (November 15, 2025 - Present)

This is our second timeline for accountability, as the first has become so long the website began to drag when loading. We will continue to document updates here from November 18, 2025, to the present.

November 18, 2025 — We continue to seek public records and oppose the City of Orlando’s interpretation and selective application of the law—an approach that appears designed to keep incriminating evidence from public view.

Our latest records request, 25-20521, documents the actions of the City of Orlando. We believe it provides clear evidence of an ongoing cover-up.

Remember: at the same time, victims and survivors pursuing a premises-liability case against PULSE are in court fighting to preserve the building and the evidence. The City is fully aware of this—yet is still moving forward with removing “artifacts” and planning to demolish the building.

Here are some examples of local media operating as the City of Orlando's mouthpiece, reporting only their press release and completely ignoring victims/survivors. We refuse to link to these stories and will no longer share them on our social media pages. It is vital that when reporting on PULSE, corporate news agencies speak to victims/survivors directly, regardless of the topic.

Here is REQUEST 25-20521:

On February 23, 2025—nine years after the PULSE massacre—I submitted a public records request (#25-2920) for specific photographs of PULSE, which had operated for years as a nightclub in violation of its conditional use permit, as documented by the Municipal Planning Board. Several of these photographs depicted a blocked exit to the unpermitted outdoor patio—specifically, a door obstructed by a Coke-branded beverage cooler.

In response to this request, the City stated:

“All of the identified images have been withheld because they depict a portion of the body of one or more victims that were killed in an incident in which three or more persons, not including the perpetrator, are killed by the perpetrator of an intentional act of violence. As such the withheld images depict the killing of a victim of mass violence and are confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution pursuant to section 119.071(2)(p), Fla. Stat. All releasable images from the identified image set can be found on the City's Pulse Tragedy Records website.”

I challenged the City’s determination on March 10, 2025, asking that the City redact only the specific portions it claimed were confidential rather than withhold entire photographs. My email stated:

“Is it possible for the City to blur out the bodies (or part of bodies) and retain the rest of the image?

Just redact that portion of the image rather than keep the entire image from the public?

… it would probably benefit all victims/survivors if we can see all the photos with just the bodies blurred/redacted.”

For these redacted photographs, the City charged us $55.88 plus an additional $8.13. As you know, we have already spent thousands of dollars since 2019 to obtain PULSE-related records from the City of Orlando.

On March 20, 2025, the City released the redacted photos. Their release immediately generated widespread local and national media coverage—particularly because, in 2016, several news outlets were told by the City via email that no such photograph of a blocked exit existed.

Below are several examples of these stories:

• https://www.wesh.com/article/photo-2016-pulse-nightclub-massacre-blocked-exit/64313970

• https://www.the-sun.com/news/13895461/pulse-nightclub-shooting-photo-blocked-exit-coke-machine/

• https://www.advocate.com/news/new-photo-pulse-exit-blocked

• https://hoodline.com/2025/03/photo-reveals-blocked-exit-in-pulse-nightclub-tragedy-as-orlando-grieves-and-plans-memorial/

• https://westorlandonews.com/city-of-orlando-lied-hid-pulse-photos-of-blocked-door-from-public-for-9-years/

It is now evident that the City withheld these photographs by taking the position that visible blood constituted "a portion of the body of one or more victims." However, the City has released numerous other PULSE photographs containing the visible blood of victims without any redactions. I have included several (but not all) photos depicting victims' blood that the City has released without redaction as examples with this request.

The City’s decision to apply section 119.071(2)(p), Fla. Stat., to these particular photographs—but not to others from the same collection that also depict the blood of victims—demonstrates a selective and inconsistent application of the statute. The result was the withholding of images of the blocked exit from the public for nearly a decade.

Accordingly, I am now requesting:

That these photographs be released without redactions;

1. A refund of the redaction fees charged for access to these images; or

2. A written legal justification explaining why section 119.071(2)(p), Fla. Stat., was applied to redact these particular images, but not other photographs from the same evidentiary set that also contained visible blood and were released without redaction.

3. As stated in my complaint filed last week in Orange County Court (Case 2025-CA-011023-O), the City is obligated to justify all redactions. If the City cannot provide a logical and legally sound rationale for its selective application of the statute, I will take this issue to court and ask for these unredacted images as well as financial restitution for redaction fees improperly charged for records that were not made available to the public until 2025.

March 18, 2026 - The PULSE building has been demolished today. When Mayor Buddy Dyer was asked about accountability, he said, "No comment." With the building gone, so is the evidence that victims-survivors' lawyers tried to preserve for the upcoming trial in the ongoing premises liability case brought against the PULSE owners. See Orange County Clerk of Courts, Case # 2018-CA-006102-O.

This comes after we exposed Mayor Buddy Dyer and the City of Orlando during its public 30% memorial design meeting for its ongoing cover-up and the lack of accountability. This included, for the first time, exposing that Orlando Commissioner Shan Rose disclosed that the Office of the Mayor attempted to erase PULSE files and ordered the City's backup server to be erased.

March 20, 2026 - The City of Orlando bulldozed the PULSE Nightclub after nearly 10 years of its owners letting the building rot for the sake of being a macabre spectacle and photo backdrop. The City recorded the entire demolition, but did not provide this footage to the public. We received those videos (and photographs) through a public records request and published them for free on our YouTube channel with the goal of not allowing the City to withhold these images for future exhibition purposes. Remember, this footage and these images are public record and can be used freely for documentaries, by filmmakers, and for other purposes. We will always work to make sure public records are made public.

We were disgusted that the City distributed and highlighted this particular image of a construction worker making a rainbow with a hose, and we wrote a blog post about why this was so fucked up and how local corporate media feeds the City's manipulative narratives:

As if this wasn't enough, on this same day, the Orlando Sentinel published this letter penned by City Attorney Mayanne Downs, which ridiculously and unnecessarily spotlights Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer's lying Chief of Staff Heather Fagan and GOP-megadona Craig Mateer (who is Downs' longtime client, brother of Assistant City Attorney Jody Litchford, Church Street developer, and employer of the Mayor's son—among other things).

We wrote a response and sent it to the Orlando Sentinel for publication. The newspaper dragged its feet and wouldn't commit to publishing it. After several days, we sent our letter to West Orlando News for publication, so that it would be accessible to the public without paywalls and it would not be edited for publication. In this letter, "PULSE Survivors Call out the City of Orlando," we directly respond to Mayanne Downs' letter and call out many of the issues we continue to face—against the City of Orlando, city officials, and City insiders.

March 29, 2026 — The Orlando Sentinel publishes victim advocate Zachary Blair's letter to the editor regarding the City of Orlando's proposed PULSE memorial design, but only after editing it and putting it next to a cartoon of a giant gun aimed at people. The published letter—"Who is the PULSE Memorial Really For?"—can be read below:

March 30, 2026 - Orlando Commissioner Shan Rose responds our emails to the City with harassing emails sent from her private email accounts. This comes days after our public disclosure that she told us in 2021 about the Office of the Mayor ordering the PULSE permitting and code violation files destroyed by wiping the City's backup server.

You can watch our public disclosure here.

This came after giving the commissioner years of missed opportunities to fight for us and to help us get accountability from the City of Orlando. Instead, after being elected City Commissioner, Shaniqua Rose chose to defend corrupt city officials instead of supporting victims/survivors and our collective fight for accountability.

This is the same thing Commissioner Patty Sheehan did after secretly disclosing the unpermitted renovations, code violations, and blocked exits that existed inside the PULSE nightclub that contributed to a failed police response and hindered the escape of survivors. They all seem to fall in line with Mayor Buddy Dyer once they get back into City Hall in an effort to secure their political positions of power.

You can read Commissioner Shan Rose's "anonymous" email to our email to her City email address below:

It is worth noting that this email not only contains the zip code for Shan Rose's district and personal residence, but it was also created in support of the local "Black Voters Matter" movement. The disgusting irony that Commissioner Rose would use an email meant to support Black civic engagement to harass us, tell us we are "all dumb and need to get a life" and that we should "kick rocks" is quite telling.

IP information extracted from Shan Rose's email shows that she sent this from her iPhone at City Hall.

As of April 2, 2026, Commissioner Rose denies authorship of these emails and refused to provide them to the City for the public record, as Florida Law requires.

Victim advocate Zachary Blair also received harassing emails from Shaniqua Rose and encouraged her to follow the law. You can read all of these email exchanges below:

TOTAL COLLATED SHAN ROSE EMAILS.pdf

Download PDF • 4.24MB

March 31, 2026 - As a result of Orlando Commissioner Shan Rose's disrespectful emails, we petition the City of Orlando to remove all city officials' names from the PULSE site, including the name of Shan Rose.

This is the full written request sent to the Orlando City Council and Orange County Commissioners:

Re: Follow-Up #2: Hostile Response Received Following Victim Advocacy Communication

Dear City “Leaders,"

Considering the FACT that Commissioner Shan Rose called PULSE Families and Survivors “dumb” and “traitors” and told them to “kick rocks” yesterday…. in writing… we are requesting that the City immediately remove her name from the PULSE memorial construction site. The names of survivors should replace the names of all officials, but Shan Rose’s name should be removed now and in total disgrace.

The City always finds new ways to appall the public when it comes to your actions waged against PULSE victims-survivors. The City’s actions continue to dishonor the 49 victims.

I am including Orange County Commissioners on these emails, as they are funding $5M for the City’s project and they need to be aware of what really happens behind the scenes and how the City actually treats PULSE victims/survivors—not just what city representatives say when they are at the County podium. Again, Shan Rose responded inappropriately and illegally via her private emails to a simple request for Christine Leinonen to have two flags for her murdered son. This was a totally reasonable request. It would also not be an expensive exception to whatever rule the City contrived. The fact that Commissioner Shan Rose responded so abhorrently to both me and to the survivors yesterday is unacceptable and the silence of the City Council is revolting.

As you know, Shan Rose is already under investigation by the FDLE for misconduct and she was previously fired by the City for misconduct. Between her, Patty Sheehan, and Mayor Buddy Dyer, the moral depravity displayed every day by the Council toward PULSE victims-survivors is just sickening. You keep saying publicly that you want everyone to “move on,” but these particular leaders continually engage in unethical and illegal behavior that continues and exacerbates the harm already done to victims-survivors. It is my hope that those on the Council who have stayed quiet for the past 10 years, and those recently elected, will finally speak out against what has been allowed to go on inside City Hall and speak up for human decency. How many more years are you going to do this for? How many more years will the others on the City Council allow this?

In the meantime, we are demanding you remove Commissioner Shan Rose’s name from the memorial, immediately. Remove all of your names. The memorial should be reserved to honor the victims-survivors. Not elected officials. This memorial is NOT for you! You have not earned a place to be honored next to murdered PULSE victims and you never will.

With Sincere and Ongoing Disgust,

April 1, 2026 - PULSE survivor Jorshua Hernandez Carrion sends an email to Heather Fagan, Chief of Staff for Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, asking her directly:

"...[W]hy did you tell the media there were no blocked exits? That there was no evidence of the nightclub being overcrowded? Why did you use language to purposely mislead them into thinking there were no violations or issues at the club?... Why did you help present a version of events that didn't match what we experienced? And why are you involved in the memorial effort now, given those decisions?"

The email can be read below:

April 2, 2026 - We learned that the City of Orlando also settled a lawsuit regarding the conditional use permit (CUP) of Maxine's on Shine—the owner of which is known for having close ties to Mayor Buddy Dyer. The City has a clear pattern of using Code Enforcement to engage in preferential treatment, selective enforcement, bullying residents, and even trying to acquire downtown properties for those close to corrupt city officials, including city officials themselves. This is one of many similar lawsuits against the City.

You can read the City's settlement by downloading it here:

Lisa Polanik and Frederic B. Rutledge Settlement Agreement.pdf

Download PDF • 411KB

We continue to wait for an official response from Commissioner Shan Rose or anyone else in the City regarding her disrespectful harassment emails.

April 27, 2026 - The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) released never-before-seen PULSE surveillance footage, showing OPD's failure to follow active shooter protocol. We posted these videos on YouTube.