Ron DeSantis flies to Orlando after signing a slate of tough-on-crime bills

Ron DeSantis flew from Z Ranch Airport, a private airstrip near Winter Haven, to Orlando International Airport on June 18, a 33-minute hop that arrived just before 1 p.m. local time. The aircraft, N943FL, is a Cessna Citation Latitude operated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for executive-protection transport.

The trip comes the same week DeSantis signed five public-safety bills at the Winter Haven Police Department, as covered by the Miami Herald and other state outlets on June 17. The new laws include trafficking penalties for the drug xylazine, a "career offender" designation printed on driver’s licenses, and a mandatory life sentence for anyone convicted of manslaughter against an active-duty law enforcement officer. DeSantis framed the measures as part of his "Law & Order State" agenda.

The flight from Winter Haven to Orlando is a short one, and it fits the governor’s familiar circuit between Tallahassee and the state’s major metro areas. Two days earlier, his aircraft had flown from the same Winter Haven-area strip back to Tallahassee after a separate event.