© 2024 90.7 WMFE. All Rights Reserved.
90.7 Orlando • 89.5 Ocala
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Update: Ocala lawmaker Joe Harding resigns after indictment on fraud charges

Florida state Rep. Joe Harding listens during a Local Administration and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee hearing in a legislative session on Jan. 13 in Tallahassee, Fla. Harding has been indicted for defrauding a loan program offered by the federal government to help small businesses during the coronavirus pandemic, officials said Wednesday.
Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP
/
FR121174 AP
Florida state Rep. Joe Harding listens during a Local Administration and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee hearing in a legislative session on Jan. 13 in Tallahassee, Fla. Harding has been indicted for defrauding a loan program offered by the federal government to help small businesses during the coronavirus pandemic, officials said Wednesday.

The Ocala lawmaker who sponsored the controversial law critics call “Don’t Say Gay” resigned on Thursday, one day after authorities announced his indictment on charges of defrauding a federal coronavirus loan program for small businesses.

State Rep. Joe Harding, a 35-year-old Republican, sent a resignation letter to House Speaker Paul Renner saying he needs to focus on his upcoming trial, which is scheduled to start on Jan. 11.

“Now is the time to allow someone else to serve my district,” said Harding, who represented a two-county area in the north-central portion of the state that includes Ocala.

Renner said in a statement that he understands and respects the decision. Republicans hold substantial majorities in both houses of the Florida Legislature. Gov. Ron DeSantis will have to call a special election to replace Harding.

Prosecutors say Harding illegally obtained or tried to obtain more than $150,000 from the Small Business Administration in pandemic aid loans.

He was indicted on charges of defrauding a federal coronavirus loan program for small businesses, officials said Wednesday.

He is being charged with two counts of wire fraud, two counts of money laundering and two counts of making false statements.

Harding became nationally known this year over his sponsorship of a law that forbids instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade, as well as material that is not deemed age-appropriate in later grades.

"I want the public and my constituents to know that I fully repaid the loan and cooperated with investigators as requested," Harding said in a written statement.

He was arraigned Wednesday and pleaded not guilty on all six counts.

Updated: December 9, 2022 at 9:14 AM EST
This article was updated at 9 a.m. Dec. 9 to include Rep. Joe Harding's resignation.

Related Content