No-nonsense Florida sheriff warns California and NY expats not to bring their liberal views to Sunshine State

A Florida sheriff is laying down the law for those thinking about moving from blue states to the Sunshine State.

Carmine Marceno of Lee County - on the southwest side of Florida - has been stirring up a media frenzy of late for his no-nonsense approach to crime and incarceration. 

Marceno, a New Yorker by birth, said he is pulling no punches when it comes to dealing with criminals who believe they can 'play' in his county.

He told Fox News: 'My message … is clear. If you think you can deal poison and commit crime, stay clear of Lee County and all the great state of Florida.

'We're ready, and we will absolutely find you, hunt you down, and charge you to the fullest extent of the law.'

Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno has made a name for himself as a no-nonsense enforcer of the law, who hopes the balance of his state doesn't shift due to incoming liberals from now-dangerous and unpleasant blue states

He went on to observe, as many have, that a flood of liberals from New York and California have been streaming into Florida for several years now for a number of reasons that include safety, sunshine, and favorable tax breaks.

Marceno worries those same people who are choosing to flee their home states because the Democrat-led environments have devolved into chaotic, crime-ridden cities with sky-high taxes and nothing to show for them, are moving to Florida only to vote for the same type of leadership that led to the ruin of their once functional cities.

'They want to leave California. They want to leave New York. Okay. And then they come down to a state like Florida, where we are law and order, and they don't change their views,' he said.

'You left a place where there's havoc, where people can rob, steal, loot, do drugs in safe havens. And then you're upset that it's so bad there, and you come here and still do the same thing. Same action, same result.'

The sheriff has a tough but fair message to those thinking about importing their blue state mindsets to Florida: 'Leave. Go back to where you came from because we don't want you here.'

The sheriff has a tough but fair message to those thinking about importing their blue state mindsets to Florida: 'Leave. Go back to where you came from because we don't want you here'

'We welcome everyone to our great state of Florida. But if you think lawlessness leads the way, if you believe that criminals should roam the streets and steal and rob and, God forbid, deal poison to the streets and kill innocent people, you're not the person we want here. You can go back and live with lawlessness.'

He noted some of the relentless crime that's been plaguing the streets of New York, including a budding epidemic of people getting punched in the face.

'The world has gone crazy,' he said.

He hopes that voters who do not prioritize law and order do not cast their votes for him.

'I'Il tell people routinely, if you don't like that I stand for law and order, and you don't like that we incarcerate bad people, I'm not the person to vote for. I prefer you don't vote for me.'

Four of the top 10 fastest-growing cities in America are in Florida, according to LinkedIn data. Sarasota, Tampa, Jacksonville, and Orlando all rank among places the highest number of Americans have moved in recent years.

On a per capita basis, the top 10fastest-growing cities in American were all in the South, including four in Florida, three in Texas, and two in North Carolina

Marceno does not, however, have a spotless record. Following his 2017 divorce, Deanna Williams (pictured) entered into a consensual relationship with him that led to a lawsuit

Marceno was the plaintiff in a paternity lawsuit filed around the time he became sheriff by Deanna Williams (right). Williams miscarried and the result of any paternity test that was possibly taken, was never made public

Marceno has established himself as something of a social media superstar.

According to Fox, the sheriff and his team often go viral for videos of their larges-scale drug busts and videos of him and his SWAT team grooving outside busted drug dens.

Some fans call him the 'best sheriff in America.'

Marceno was elected to his post in 2018 and has since executed nearly 2,000 physical arrests, 800 search warrants, and worked some 3,300 drug cases - the local jail has been nicknamed the Marceno Motel.

Marceno, however, does not have a flawless public record. Just after he was appointed Lee County Sheriff in 2018, he was sued by a woman who claimed she was pregnant with his child.

Deanna Williams claimed to have entered into a consensual relationship with Marceno - which he's confirmed -  before being dumped after telling him she was pregnant.

In November of 2018, Williams filed a paternity lawsuit against Marceno demanding sole custody of the child due in Spring 2019.

She said Marceno did not want the child to be born and had offered to pay for an abortion.

Williams eventually delivered a stillborn child and the lawsuit was subsequently dismissed.