{"id":1577,"date":"2026-06-09T20:01:29","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T20:01:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1577"},"modified":"2026-06-09T20:01:29","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T20:01:29","slug":"miami-police-investigating-online-threats-against-city-commissioner-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1577","title":{"rendered":"Miami police investigating online threats against city commissioner"},"content":{"rendered":"<article><!-- --><!-- --><!-- WPS-5038 -- removed the script from WPS and added the placeholder for trinity player --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- CONTENT --><!--[--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The Miami Police Department is investigating threats against City Commissioner Miguel Angel Gabela that appeared in the comment section of a recent video posted to Instagram by filmmaker Billy Corben.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1576\">Ex \u2018Real Housewives of Miami\u2019 star hit with shocking lawsuit. He responds<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The investigation lands amid ongoing tensions between Gabela and Corben, who has posted several videos to Instagram in recent weeks that are critical of the first-term commissioner. The videos include clips of Corben engaging with Gabela at public meetings in what sometimes became heated exchanges.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>In the posts, Corben has accused Gabela of \u201cweaponizing government\u201d and criticized him for pushing to name a city street after a former commissioner who resigned as part of a plea deal after he was accused of exploiting his public office.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>On one of those recent Instagram posts, which had about 800 comments as of Monday night, a user commented \u201ckill the commissioner.\u201d Gabela filed a police report on Wednesday, saying he felt concerned about his safety. The police report references other \u201cthreatening comments\u201d under the post but doesn\u2019t provide further details about them.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>For the specific comment referenced, the police report includes the commenter\u2019s Instagram username, which links to an account with five followers and zero posts. The report doesn\u2019t include further details about the commenter\u2019s identity.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Corben condemned the comment, calling it \u201cabsolutely terrible\u201d and \u201cdisgusting.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI repudiate political violence in every form,\u201d Corben told the Miami Herald. \u201cThat includes threats or calls for violence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Corben said that while he\u2019s a free-speech proponent, \u201ccalls for violence are totally out of line and totally outside the scope of the kind of First Amendment and government engagement that I participate in and approve of.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Gabela told the Herald that he believes Corben \u201ctakes the truth, and he twists it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe puts out lies, and then he gets these crazies that really don\u2019t have a clue what\u2019s going on,\u201d Gabela said.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>He added that he believes Corben is \u201cinciting violence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Corben said that accusation was \u201cnonsense.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cTalking to public officials in public meetings about public money and public activities is fundamental to the First Amendment and to having a functional government of the people, by the people and for the people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Corben added that Gabela, who was elected in 2023, \u201cwas a big fan of the accountability journalism that I do when it was about his political opponents.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow that he is an elected public official and I am asking questions of him, requesting public records about his activities \u2014 now he seems to take issue with it,\u201d Corben said.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<h2>Palm tree incident and alleged police leak<\/h2>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Days before Gabela filed the police report, at the May 28 City Commission meeting, he had directed Police Chief Manuel Morales to launch an investigation into what he described as a \u201cleak\u201d within the Miami Police Department.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1574\">These four Miami-Dade public schools could close, consolidate after this year<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>That directive arose after Corben posted a video May 21 about a Miami police officer who\u2019s under investigation after he allegedly hit a palm tree, fled the scene and then waited several hours before filing a report about the incident. Corben\u2019s video included body-cam footage and other details, including the officer\u2019s ties to Gabela.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Gabela \u2014 upset about Corben\u2019s video \u2014 opted to go public with his concerns. At the May 28 meeting, Gabela said the officer had been \u201ctrying out\u201d to be his sergeant-at-arms, a coveted position that includes working as Gabela\u2019s police escort.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Gabela called Morales up to the lectern and told him \u201cthe only way\u201d Corben could have known to obtain the relevant records \u201cis through a leak through your department.\u201d Gabela defended the officer, saying he had an \u201caccident\u201d and was now being \u201cpersecuted\u201d for it.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe shouldn\u2019t have my political problems,\u201d Gabela said of the officer. He then asked Morales to \u201cfind out where that leak came from, because this is very unprofessional.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Under Miami\u2019s governance structure, city commissioners are supposed to issue directives through the city manager. About 15 minutes later, Gabela, seemingly realizing the misstep, directed City Manager James Reyes to have the chief investigate.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Gabela added that \u201cthere can\u2019t be this kind of targeting through the police department.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>A city spokesperson said Monday that the city manager \u201chas requested a memo from Chief Morales regarding an update of the investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Speaking to the Herald, Gabela characterized Corben\u2019s reporting on the palm tree incident as unfair.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat do I have to do with that?\u201d Gabela said. \u201cI wasn\u2019t in the car. I wasn\u2019t there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>He also noted the absence of former Commissioner Joe Carollo, who had been a focus of Corben\u2019s critiques. Carollo was termed out of office at the end of last year. So now, Gabela said, Corben has shifted his focus to him.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Corben\u2019s response? \u201cIf he doesn\u2019t want to be treated like Carollo, he should stop acting like [him].\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1573\">Five Miami-Dade County commissioners were elected Tuesday \u2014 no votes needed<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--]--><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Miami police are investigating an Instagram comment threatening Commissioner Miguel Angel Gabela, who asked for an investigation into a \u201cleak\u201d in the department<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1542,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1577","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-miami-dade-county"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Miami police investigating online threats against city commissioner - Florida Moving Chronicle<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1577\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Miami police investigating online threats against city commissioner - Florida Moving Chronicle\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Miami police are investigating an Instagram comment threatening Commissioner Miguel Angel Gabela, who asked for an investigation into a \u201cleak\u201d in the department\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1577\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Florida Moving Chronicle\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-09T20:01:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=1577#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=1577\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/482f60b6a0b7cc84b37966d78057552f\"},\"headline\":\"Miami police investigating online threats against city commissioner\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-09T20:01:29+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=1577\"},\"wordCount\":848,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=1577#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/a42bc402341fbe818e4b79c08e385770.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Miami-Dade County\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=1577#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=1577\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=1577\",\"name\":\"Miami police investigating online threats against city commissioner - Florida Moving Chronicle\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=1577#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=1577#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/a42bc402341fbe818e4b79c08e385770.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-09T20:01:29+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/482f60b6a0b7cc84b37966d78057552f\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=1577#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=1577\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=1577#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/a42bc402341fbe818e4b79c08e385770.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/a42bc402341fbe818e4b79c08e385770.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":674,\"caption\":\"City of Miami Commissioner Miguel Angel Gabela reacts as he speaks during a Miami City Commission meeting, at City Hall, on Thursday May 28, 2026.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=1577#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Miami police investigating online threats against city commissioner\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Florida Moving Chronicle\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/482f60b6a0b7cc84b37966d78057552f\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Miami police investigating online threats against city commissioner - Florida Moving Chronicle","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1577","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Miami police investigating online threats against city commissioner - Florida Moving Chronicle","og_description":"Miami police are investigating an Instagram comment threatening Commissioner Miguel Angel Gabela, who asked for an investigation into a \u201cleak\u201d in the department","og_url":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1577","og_site_name":"Florida Moving Chronicle","article_published_time":"2026-06-09T20:01:29+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1577#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1577"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/#\/schema\/person\/482f60b6a0b7cc84b37966d78057552f"},"headline":"Miami police investigating online threats against city commissioner","datePublished":"2026-06-09T20:01:29+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1577"},"wordCount":848,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1577#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/a42bc402341fbe818e4b79c08e385770.jpg","articleSection":["Miami-Dade County"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1577#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1577","url":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1577","name":"Miami police investigating online threats against city commissioner - Florida Moving Chronicle","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1577#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1577#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/a42bc402341fbe818e4b79c08e385770.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-09T20:01:29+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/#\/schema\/person\/482f60b6a0b7cc84b37966d78057552f"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1577#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1577"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1577#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/a42bc402341fbe818e4b79c08e385770.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/a42bc402341fbe818e4b79c08e385770.jpg","width":1200,"height":674,"caption":"City of Miami Commissioner Miguel Angel Gabela reacts as he speaks during a Miami City Commission meeting, at City Hall, on Thursday May 28, 2026."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1577#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Miami police investigating online threats against city commissioner"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/","name":"Florida Moving Chronicle","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/#\/schema\/person\/482f60b6a0b7cc84b37966d78057552f","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com"],"url":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1577"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1577\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}