Elijah Manley, a 27-year-old Fort Lauderdale native and repeat Democratic candidate, was booked into the Broward County Main Jail on Friday, facing two counts of making written or electronic threats to kill or injure. The charges stem from a social media post in which Manley threatened to cut off the heads of Democrats who refused to back U.S. Senate candidate Angie Nixon.
Manley told reporters he expected to be charged over the post, according to WLRN. The post, flagged to the Broward Sheriff's Office, warned fellow Democrats that failing to unite behind Nixon would carry violent consequences. As reported by the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Manley wrote that he intended to cut off the heads of those who did not vote for Nixon, a Florida House member running against Republican U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody.
A Threat Tied to a High-Stakes Senate Race
Nixon is seeking to complete the remaining term of Marco Rubio, who resigned from the Senate in 2025 after his appointment as U.S. Secretary of State, per CBS News Miami. Moody was appointed to the seat by Gov. Ron DeSantis before having to defend it at the ballot box this year. Four recent public opinion polls show Moody leading Nixon, according to the Sun Sentinel's reporting, and a Stetson University survey conducted October 1-9 found Moody ahead 52% to 41% among likely voters, as reported by Florida Politics. That same reporting noted Nixon out-raised Moody by millions in the third quarter, pulling in $7.6 million even as she trails in the polls.
Manley, for his part, cast the charges as a free-speech matter. He called the situation a serious First Amendment issue and indicated he may pursue legal action, per the station's report. Manley also told WLRN that the president of the United States says worse, pushing back on the idea that his words rose to the level of a criminal threat.
How Florida's Threat Law Reaches Public Posts
Both charges against Manley are second-degree felonies. Under Florida Statute § 836.10, a written or electronic threat to kill or do bodily harm carries a maximum of 15 years in state prison, 15 years of probation, and a $10,000 fine per count, according to the Florida Senate. A 2021 amendment to that statute removed the requirement that a threat be sent directly to its target, a change Hoodline previously reported now lets prosecutors bring felony charges over posts visible to the general public rather than private messages.
The Broward Sheriff's Office runs a specialized Threat Management Unit, established in 2019, that conducts digital forensics and threat assessments on public statements to determine whether they cross into criminal territory, per Hoodline's earlier coverage of the unit's work evaluating First Amendment limits against criminal intent. As of Friday, court records offering further detail on the investigation that led to Manley's charges were not available, and Manley's defense attorney did not respond to requests for comment, according to the Sun Sentinel.
A Familiar Face in Broward Politics
Manley is a civic activist and frequent, if unsuccessful, Democratic candidate who has run for Broward School Board, the state Legislature, and Congress. In the August primary for Florida's 20th Congressional District, he finished third, trailing incumbent U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who won the nomination, according to Ballotpedia. Manley had told the Sun Sentinel he believed he was the best candidate to take on Wasserman Schultz, and his campaign centered on affordability, immigration, and corruption in the district. He has also worked as a substitute teacher in Broward County Public Schools, per his Sun Sentinel candidate questionnaire.
That primary unfolded amid tension over a historically Black congressional seat. The seat's history of Black representation dates to Alcee Hastings's first win in 1993, and Wasserman Schultz switched into the district in 2025. The New York Amsterdam News reported that local Black political leaders had urged white incumbents not to enter the race. Hoodline covered the friction in a May report on local power brokers pressing Wasserman Schultz to stay out of the contest.
Manley's run-ins with South Florida's Democratic establishment predate this year's primary. In January 2026, U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, who previously represented FL-20 before congressional maps changed, filed a libel and slander lawsuit against Manley in Broward County circuit court over campaign ads; a judge later dismissed the suit after it was not properly served within the required timeframe. Manley said an arrest was politically motivated, while Trantalis defended him against the allegations.
