Big white shark near the coast scatters
Drone footage filmed a fantastic white shark swimming along the beach in Montauk, New York.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump has forgiven two Florida shark divers who have no fishermen’s line, where the theft and theft and fishermen’s line were supposed to be illegal for cutting 19 sharks.
The May 28 pardon gave complete generosity to both John Moore Jr. and Tanner Munsell, who discovered the longline three miles away from the Jupiter inlet on August 10, 2020, and landed it. Gear alone cost the ship’s owner about $1,300, but the lost shark was worth thousands more.
“Whether people believe in his politics or not, he chose to forgive me, only those who were deeply concerned about the environment and wanted to help,” Munsell said in a text after his pardon. “I can’t help but be extremely grateful.”
Defence counsels Mark Saitles and Ashley Litwin, who helped secure the man’s pardon, said the decision to claim them anyway was a clear case of the government’s outline.
The two avoided prison time, but their pardon means that they are no longer felons, but they will restore the right to vote, own firearms and travel freely abroad.
USA Today reached the White House for comment.
Why did they loosen the sharks?
Moore and Munsell said they think they’re doing the right thing by confiscating the line and releasing the shark they caught with that hook. The two said it was the reason they called state wildlife officers to report the line and why they took photos as they released the shark and pulled gear out of the water.
Who did Longline belong to?
The 3-mile longline belonged to one of five ships only in the world where NOAA was allowed to harvest sandbar sharks for research.
Longline captain Scott Taylor, called the National Maritime and Atmospheric Administration, called for a criminal investigation. Federal prosecutors argued that the divers knew the line was legal, blocked it anyway, and maintained the shark population for commercial profits.
When was the pair convicted?
Moore Jr. and Munsell were convicted on December 2, 2022 after three days of deliberation by the ju judges.
US District Judge Donald Middlebrooks later sentenced the pair to one year of probation and ordered the Fort Pierce fisherman to pay $3,345 in reparations, with his equipment destroyed.
Why were their prosecutors asked?
Trump wasn’t the first to question Moore and Munsell’s prosecution. During a 2024 hearing in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, two judges asked why the man was charged with the crime.
Judge Barbara Lagore said U.S. attorney Aide Tom Watts Fitzgerald had indicted the man “on grounds that deny understanding.” She compared him to Javert’s inspector. This is the relentless corporation of “Les Misérables,” which has been chasing men for decades over the theft of one bread.
“Moore and Munsell are felons because they tried to save the shark from what they believed was an illegal poaching operation,” Lagoa wrote. “They were the only felons I’ve ever encountered, and I called law enforcement to report on what they were seeing and what they were doing in real time in 18 years, on the bench and as federal prosecutors in three years.”
However, the court found that under federal law, it was sufficient for divers to deliberately take property that was not theirs.
“In many cases, in criminal defense, it’s a long way to feel like you’re hitting your head against a wall and no one cares,” Litwin said. “That’s how it felt.”
