Public Records and Public Oversight

June 8, 2026 — PULSE Families and Survivors for Justice acknowledges the decision by State Attorney Monique Worrell’s Office not to pursue involuntary manslaughter charges related to the conditions inside PULSE nightclub on June 12, 2016. While we respect the time and effort that went into the State Attorney’s review of the Orlando Police Department’s 2024 involuntary manslaughter investigation, neither are replacements for a full, official, and independent investigation—whic

On Saturday, June 5, 2026, we sent Senator Carlos G. Smith the following written request for an independent investigative PULSE commission. This can only be achieved through legislation. This should have been done years ago, as it was done in Parkland: Dear Senator Carlos Guillermo Smith, We are writing to respectfully ask on this sacred week that you lead legislation establishing an independent commission to comprehensively review the failures surrounding the PULSE nightclub

Failure that gets people killed should not be protected—it should be exposed, criticized, and corrected. We have every right to call out the failures that cost lives.

For nearly nine years, survivors, victims’ families, journalists, and members of the public sought access to a photograph referenced in former City of Orlando spokesperson Tammy Hughes’ text messages — a photograph showing a blocked exit inside Pulse nightclub shortly after the mass shooting on June 12, 2016. Text Messages between Fire Marshal Tammy Hughes and former Orlando Fire Chief Roderick Williams. That photograph was repeatedly withheld from the public. City records sh

In April 2026, nearly 10 years after the shooting, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) released previously never-before-seen surveillance footage from the mass shooting at the PULSE Nightclub. The video clips are incredible recordings of police inaction and their abject failure to follow Active Shooter Protocol. Since the shooting, the City of Orlando has done everything it could to withhold this evidence from the public. As a result of our collective determinati

***TRAUMA WARNING*** The following contains sensitive and retraumatizing information related to the death of a victim and may be distressing to survivors, families, and community members. We approach this with the utmost care, respect, and acknowledgment of the profound harm carried by those directly impacted. We will not display graphic imagery; any referenced visuals will be blurred to protect the dignity of the victim and their loved ones. We decided to publish this story

It has been ten years since a gunman walked into the Pulse nightclub on June 12, 2016, and murdered 49 people. Ten years since Christine Leinonen lost her son, Christopher Andrew Leinonen. Ten years. And the City of Orlando is still finding new ways to harm Christine and exploit her son's murder. Who Was Christopher Andrew Leinonen? His friends called him Drew. From birth, he was easy-going, fun, and happy. He was the kind of person who lit up a room just by walking into it —

PULSE survivor Jorshua Hernandez Carrion asks the City of Orlando 10 Unanswered Questions for the 10-year mark. Emails were sent to Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer's Chief of Staff Heather Fagan. The City has still not provided answers.

Rose responded from her private Gmail account, telling our group we were "dumb," calling us "a bunch of traitors," and instructing us to "kick rocks." She told Dr. Blair to "get a life" and "move on." She told PULSE survivors—people who lost friends, lovers, and family members in the deadliest mass shooting in American history—to stop "harassing" the City of Orlando.

PULSE Survivors and victims' families write a scathing open letter calling out City of Orlando officials, including City Attorney Mayanne Downs, the Mayor's Chief of Staff Heather Fagan, and GOP Megadonor Craig Mateer.

The PULSE Nightclub has now been demolished. For those of us who have been vocal about the importance of that building , this moment carries real consequences — not just emotionally, but legally and historically. For years, we have been documenting the unpermitted renovations and code violations that were still visible within the structure, work that was essential on multiple levels: to expose the City of Orlando's regulatory failures and cover-up , to put on record the PU

The City of Orlando has put the names of City Council members on display at its "memorial" construction site before demolition — but not the names of PULSE survivors. Let that sink in. They have space to honor politicians. They have space to center themselves. But somehow, they cannot find space to name the people who were shot, who survived, who lost loved ones, who live with this every single day. That is not an oversight. That is a choice. It is horrendous. It is unaccepta

Earlier this year (2025), Governor Ron DeSantis and CFO Blaise Ingoglia announced a sweeping effort to audit nearly every local government in Florida — billed as a crackdown on “waste, fraud, and abuse.” They framed it as non-partisan enforcement, with the implication that the audits would expose inefficiency or corruption. The joke was on us.

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 act

June 12, 2016 - The Pulse Nightclub Shooting occurred, resulting in the murder of 49 people, 53 others wounded by gunfire, and hundreds of survivors who were injured and/or traumatized. Occurring on Latin Night, the shooting disproportionately affected Black and Latinx LGTBQ+ people, with the majority of victims being of Puerto Rican descent. June 29, 2016 - Evidence of blocked exits at the Pulse Nightclub make the news, with WESH 2 erroneously reporting that a "Coke Machin

In the upcoming months, we will be working with our grassroots partners to create new engagements on social media to address issues with...

The Orlando Police Department's Investigation into the unpermitted renovations and code violations at the Pulse Nightclub is flawed.

Pulse First Responders Mark Canty and Scott Smith were interviewed for the new "documentary" series PD True on Paramount Plus. We watched...

The City of Orlando's Pulse Memorial Committee Process is as unnecessary as it is harmful.

An hour-long special on the failed onePULSE Foundation and the code violations and unpermitted renovations at Pulse Nightclub.