(Photo Credit: @J_Fishback on X)
A Florida school district “cut ties” with controversial Republican gubernatorial candidate James Fishback after a student claimed he had an “inappropriate relationship” with her while she was underage, NBC News reported on Tuesday.
The student, Keinah Fort, claimed Fishback “initiated a romantic relationship” with her in 2022 when she was 17, and he was 27, according to court documents obtained by NBC and the website Florida Politics. Fishback “explicitly directed” Fort to keep the relationship a secret, according to those documents.
The two met a year prior when Fort joined Fishback’s nonprofit group Incubate Debate, “which runs in-person tournaments for middle and high school students,” Florida Politics reported.
A Broward County School District official told NBC News it “ended [Fishback’s] volunteer work” shortly after being made aware of the relationship in 2022 by the mom of another student.
Fort moved in with Fishback in 2023 and they were briefly engaged, both outlets reported. The age of consent in Florida is 18.
Fishback denied the allegations to NBC News.
“These allegations from several years ago are completely false, and after two lengthy court hearings in Florida’s Second Judicial Circuit, I was fully exonerated. I have never been arrested, charged, or convicted of any crime,” Fishback said in a statement.
He also accused Fort of cyberbullying and stalking when reached by Florida Politics. Fishback said there was “no evidence” to support her claims and that he was “fully exonerated.”
Florida Politics reported “Fort’s [court] petition did not detail the level of her and Fishback’s alleged intimacy while she was underage, and she did not respond to multiple interview requests.”
The outlet said their “domestic life was hardly tranquil,” based on Fort’s court documents. She accused Fishback of losing his temper and throwing objects at her, as well as “leaving visible marks” on her arms one time after grabbing her.
Fishback told NBC News Broward County’s claim that it cut ties with him did not make sense.
“We have never had any ties, contracts, or financial relationships with the Broward County School District and never will,” he said. “Broward has pushed DEI, transgenderism, and radical left-wing ideology on our kids. As Governor, I will use my authority under Article IV, Section 7 of the Florida Constitution to remove Broward School Board Members who violate the public trust.”
The 30-year-old is vying to follow Ron DeSantis as Florida’s next governor in next November’s election. Fishback is the CEO of investment firm Azoria Partners and is running on a hard-right platform. He has said he wants to deport every “foreign worker who has stolen a job from” Americans and is vehemently anti-AIPAC.
