This is not the first time the SATP has been in a crisis of leadership. The SJC-REC inflicted pain on the SATP during its beginnings in 2010 and 2011 when the SJC-REC demanded obedience to their sense of party loyalty. It took a courtroom setting for the SATP to be free from Republican interference. That freedom is why the SATP survived long after other Tea Parties failed. The SATP’s Officers of the recent past failed to understand the nature of the grassroots, anti-communist members who make up the SATP. They began to revisit the same conditions the Republicans did years ago; In fact, it is much the same struggle all over again.

The remaining two SATP founding members and the last directors of record of the St. Augustine Tea Party, Inc. called for an emergency meeting on April 27, 2025, to remedy the vacated officer condition that was caused by the absence of the July 9, 2024 annual meeting.

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“The Landing” would turn out to be the site of the first mega Trump Rally, in Florida. This occurred on October 24, 2015, with 20000 attending. Billy Tucker organized both the original 2009 Tea Party rally and the 2015 Trump rally. The Tea Party format, including Lee Greenwood, would become the signature of future Trump rallies. The Republican Neo-Cons were already at work on the future populist president.

The Tea Party Movement in 2009 was about “Taxed Enough Already” (TEA). The Tea Party promoted small government, fiscal responsibility and the constitutional governance. With Obama’s election the Communist’s cultural war expanded. The populist movement expanded with the times to become what is now known as the America First Movement.Trump Rally below 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6ExLRStBZIDjjzM_Vm_TIw
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To become the 45th President, Trump had to defeat both political parties, something neither party has forgiven. So when the new MAGA Patriots joined the RECs in 2021, they found that they were not always welcome in many of Florida’s 67 local REC organizations. There are reports of numerous turbulent meetings with the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) stepping in to maintain order and control.

TCCR Staff 

The reason for the SJC-REC's return to normalcy is due to the fact the true grassroots patriots returned to real grassroots’ status. The RPOF’s newly appointed Chairman, Denver Cook, along with the support of the local “Old Guard,” removed the unwanted precinct committeemen and committeewomen from the REC. Even after being removed from the REC under the most questionable circumstances, the ousted REC members still look to local reasons for their rejection. They blame Democrat infiltrators or the radical “Indivisibles” for their failure to reform the Republican Party. The RPOF does not want some populist nobodies to interfere with their globalist agenda and they just proved it on a small scale in SJC.

ANTI-TRUMP RALLIES
WHERE WERE THE REPUBLICANS?
On February 17, 2025, several hundred anti-Trump protesters demonstrated at City Hall in St. Augustine, Florida. On March 4, 2025, an additional demonstration took place in front of the Castillo de San Marcos by the Communist faction of the Democrat Party which promoted continuing support for the Ukrainian war. Most recently, on March 26, 2025, another Communist Democrat anti-Trump event was held at the Castillo de San Marcos. Each of these events received media coverage on major Jacksonville TV channels. The coverage was highly manipulated in support of the Communist cause and promoted the Democrat candidate, Josh Weil, in the special election for the 6th congressional seat recently vacated by Republican, Micheal Waltz.

The 1st and 6th congressional seats in Florida are having special elections on April 1, 2025. The balance of power in the House of Representatives is dangerously close. This has Florida Republicans concerned from Governor DeSantis down. There are reports that Democrats have raised 10 million dollars for Josh Weil’s campaign in the 6th District. The demonstrations and the favorable media exploitation raises the question, “What is the local Republican Executive Committee (REC) doing about the sizable protests in St. Augustine”? The answer to that question is, “Nothing.”

St. Augustine’s historic district has been the scene of political demonstrations going back to the civil rights era in the 1960s. With the advent of the Tea Party Movement in 2009 demonstrations ,rallies and protests have been prevalent in the historic district. The St. Augustine Tea Party (SATP) had been the prominent grassroots political player in St. Augustine long after other Tea Parties failed nationally. The newly re-elected SATP Board on July 11, 2023, changed the group’s focus shifting from Tea Party values and activities to Republican partisan politics. Within a month or two the SATP’s members stopped attending meetings. The SATP was a grassroots Tea Party which was not allied with any political party. The Tea Party members were just not interested in participating in partisan politics. Failure to hold the required annual meeting, on July 9, 2024, sealed the fate of the SATP. The SATP’s Town Criers have continued to function but at a reduced level. The source of younger Town Crier participants was from the open bimonthly SATP meetings. The SATP’s demise has left an unopposed opportunity for street activity for the “Marxist Left.”

The third and most recent demonstration, formed by the Democrat Party, was challenged by former SATP members and elements of a 3% group. A Jeep flying a Gadsden Flag and a Trump Flag made numerous trips past the Communist demonstrators. The driver made the following comment:

There were a few tourists around who were very supportive. However on the side streets the city's Communist population was apparent.