The city of Tallahassee released new details about an alleged trespassing incident involving Leon County Commissioner David O’Keefe — and posted edited video of his visit to the future police headquarters site to witness the removal of oak trees that residents wanted to save.
It marked the latest development in an extraordinary political drama that began playing out Jan. 25 after O’Keefe, City Commissioners Jeremy Matlow and Jack Porter and several concerned citizens showed up at the construction site as the trees were coming down.
Both O’Keefe and Matlow live-streamed video from the site, with Matlow offering scathing remarks about the city’s decision to remove the trees and O’Keefe filming himself as he jumped over a fence to leave the area after he’d been told to do so.
The incident has mushroomed into more than just the talk of Tallahassee political circles, underscoring deep divisions in local government in which all 12 city and county commissioners are Democrats, including a long-standing and acrimonious 3-2 split on the City Commission.