Florida lawmaker accused of making obscene hand gestures during court hearing

BREVARD COUNTY, Florida. – A Central Florida politician is under fire for how he acted during a recent court hearing in Brevard County.

State Rep. Randy Fine, R-Palm Bay, has been ordered to appear before a judge next month on contempt of court charges over alleged obscene hand gestures he made during a virtual court hearing.

In a court filing this week, screenshots of Randy Fine taken during a hearing last month allegedly show gestures that displeased the judge.

“Things that you would never expect anyone to do, let alone an elected official, were not something I was prepared for,” said Robert Burns, who was present at the hearing.

Burns presented the case that led to Randy Fine having to attend court virtually.

The case concerned Fine’s electoral procedures.

Burns was arguing his case before a judge and said he was taken aback by what he saw on the screen. He claims the local lawmaker was “making obscene gestures like we were on a school bus in high school or something.”

The judge dismissed Burn’s original complaint against Fine. Fine must now appear in court again on contempt charges.

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FOX 35 News reached out to Fine several times for an interview. He declined to meet with us, but did send a statement about what happened.

Fine wrote: “Judge Blaue’s conduct in this case has been appalling, but he is right about one thing: I despise his courtroom… Now, Blaue wants to hold a hearing based on alleged conduct from two weeks ago, using photographs that Blaue himself said should not exist and that, if they actually occurred and Blaue was paying attention, he would have seen and manipulated in real time.”

FOX 35 also reached out to the courts and was told Judge Blaue was unable to respond due to the Florida Code of Judicial Conduct.

A court spokesperson told FOX 35 in a statement: “…while others may exercise great latitude in expressing their opinions, Judge Blaue may not do so. However, the judge’s written orders speak for themselves.”

In the court filing, the judge also included screenshots from the hearing where people watching the case left messages in the Microsoft Teams chat about Fine’s behavior and asked for it to stop.

“I cannot imagine any other citizen who would behave in such a manner and completely disregard the decorum of the court, its rules and policies and get away with it,” Burns concluded.

The contempt of court hearing is scheduled for October 1.

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