Explosive city meeting fuels growing criticisms of Miami commissioner

A scuffle that broke out at an explosive public meeting last week added to the growing list of controversies surrounding an embattled downtown agency and its chairman, Miami City Commissioner Miguel Angel Gabela.

What was supposed to be a straightforward meeting of Bayfront Park Management Trust with a single agenda item on Aug. 13 quickly devolved into chaos when a Trust board member, Carlos Martell, appeared to grab at activist and documentarian Billy Corben as Corben was filming on his phone. Corben has previously clashed with Gabela and Gabela’s wife, Mariela, who have accused Corben of provoking them to get views for his content.

The latest incident was especially heated. Rather than deescalating, Gabela yelled at Corben, calling him a clown. Mariela, who regularly attends her husband’s meetings, joined in, making comments about Corben’s wife.

Gabela at one point made a beeline for Corben, and a sergeant-at-arms held the city commissioner back from him. Gabela also told a Miami police officer that Corben should be arrested.

No arrests were made, but Corben said he filed a police report about Martell. He alleges that Martell grabbed his right hand and wrist, yanking Corben toward him. The unedited footage, provided by Corben to the Miami Herald, shows Martell reaching toward Corben, who immediately shouts to the sergeant-at-arms in the room that he wants Martell arrested for misdemeanor battery. Martell did not respond to a request from the Miami Herald about the situation.

“I was never a threat, an instigator,” Corben said. “And then as soon as that happens, instead of doing his job as the chair, which is to maintain order in the meeting, [Gabela] gets up and starts screaming and running at me. … Nobody understood why Gabela was reacting the way that he did.”

Gabela came into office in 2023 after running on a reform platform, defeating incumbent Alex Díaz de la Portilla, who at the time was facing charges of money laundering and bribery that were later dropped. But in the last nearly three years, Gabela has gotten into several shouting matches at public meetings, including during his first month in office when he almost got into a brawl with then-Commissioner Joe Carollo. Critics, meanwhile, have begun to accuse Gabela of behavior similar to that which he had pledged to fix.

“Commissioner, we were supposed to be cleaning up this place. But instead, we’re right back where we started,” activist James Torres said at last week’s meeting. Torres also called on Gabela to resign as chairman.

The commissioner has denied his critics’ accusations, saying he is committed to improving the lives of his residents in District 1, and that activists have chosen him as a target because Carollo is no longer in office. As for the most recent incident, Gabela said Corben has been provoking him for months and that Corben’s actions at public meetings are disruptive rather than constructive.

“He knows how to push people’s buttons,” Gabela said.

Gabela added that his wife, Mariela, who he said is an unpaid volunteer in his office, defends him if she sees “that they’re attacking me.”

“We’re not bad people,” Gabela said. “We’re just tired of being abused.”

Corben’s criticism of Gabela isn’t limited to public meetings. He also posts commentary videos to his 159,000 Instagram followers. A recent music video called “Ooga Booga” mocked Gabela as a caveman. Corben also posted a video series called “Gabelas Gone Wild” that features both Gabela and his wife.

Police opened an investigation earlier this summer into death threats against Gabela left under one of Corben’s posts, which Corben condemned. The Miami Police Department did not respond to requests this week asking about the status of the investigation.

Gabela noted that during the portion of last week’s meeting where members of the public can address board members, Corben greeted Gabela by saying “Ooga Booga.”

“Ooga Booga is not on the agenda, last time I checked,” Gabela told the Herald. He conceded that while he does refer to Corben as a “clown,” he doesn’t otherwise engage in name-calling.

Corben, though, said there’s a difference between verbal criticism and getting physical, as he alleges Martell did.

“I’m fine with the disagreement, with the debate, but we cannot tolerate violence of any kind,” Corben said. “It’s just an anathema. The fact that Gabela watched it happen and reacted the way that he did displays how unfit he is.”

Gabela, who was in a different part of the room when Martell approached Corben, said he did not witness Martell make physical contact. After the incident, Gabela posted a statement to Instagram saying “some individuals in attendance chose agitation and escalated a situation where the security of board members and their families was compromised.”

Pressed for details, Gabela told the Herald he was mostly referring to Corben, who he said was harassing people and making faces. A Herald review of the official Bayfront Park Management Trust video of the meeting, filmed on a camera stationed on the other side of the room, showed Corben grinning while filming on his phone but otherwise staying in one general area and not making obvious disruptions before the clash ensued.

“Members of the public are allowed to come and record and participate in public comment and engage their government,” Corben said. “… It’s clear that when you film a public meeting, they think you’re instigating. When you speak at public comment, they accuse you of inciting violence.”

Last week’s Bayfront Park Management Trust meeting appeared to be going normally.

Corben, as usual, was filming the meeting on his phone. He provided the unedited footage, filmed from his point of view, to the Herald. The footage shows Corben panning the camera across the other people sitting in the gallery, including briefly capturing a woman who said she didn’t want to be filmed. Corben responded that it’s a public meeting and to “get out of here” — something that seems to have upset Martell, the board member.

The footage shows Corben pivoting his camera back to the board members, and Martell coming toward him and reaching toward his phone. Corben immediately shouted that he wanted Martell arrested.

“You’re gonna be arrested, you clown!” Gabela responded to Corben.

Corben reported the incident with Martell, including the footage, to police, who provided him with a case number. The Miami Police Department has not provided a copy of the police report nor confirmed the existence of an investigation despite repeated requests from the Herald this week.

Corben, however, wasn’t the only one filming on his phone at the meeting. Jose Sanchez-Gronlier, Gabela’s city-funded attorney in his District 1 office, and his wife both had their phones fixed on Corben during the meeting, even before any altercation took place.

During a phone call with Sanchez-Gronlier and Gabela, the Herald asked Sanchez-Gronlier to share his video of the meeting, which would be considered a public record and might include another vantage point of the incident with Martell. Sanchez-Gronlier declined to share it, without providing a reason.

An official video is taken of each Bayfront Park Management Trust meeting, and people can join over Zoom, although they aren’t livestreamed. Sanchez-Gronlier shared the official meeting recording with the Herald.

Bayfront Park Management Trust is a quasi-government agency that has been a steady source of controversy for about two years, dating back to when Carollo was chairman. In early 2025, Carollo was sued by the Trust’s former executive director and former finance director. The parties settled earlier this year.

Carollo was ousted from his role last year, and Gabela took over the agency, which manages Bayfront Park and Maurice Ferré Park, generating revenue from hosting events like the Ultra Music Festival. The District 1 commissioner is up for reelection next year.