Florida Department of Financial Services sent armed investigators to question Largo veteran over postcard critical of CFO Ingoglia

On October 1, 2025, armed investigators from the Florida Department of Financial Services arrived at the Largo home of James O'Gara, a 77-year-old Army veteran, to question him about a postcard he had mailed to the office of Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia reading, "You lack values." The agents, wearing vests marked "Police," did not identify themselves or their agency when they knocked, and O'Gara's wife Cathy said she was too stunned to ask who they were. The visit followed a threat assessment that DFS Criminal Investigations Division then-director Simon Blank ordered on September 15, after O'Gara sent the postcard in August 2025 following Ingoglia's audit-related visit to St. Petersburg; internal emails later obtained by Reason show Lt. Col. James Evangelina directed staff to verify O'Gara's identity and arrange the visit before the case was closed with a finding of "no credible threat."

Ingoglia's office said the decision to conduct the assessment was made "solely by law enforcement personnel" and that the CFO was not involved, calling the episode "unfortunate," but declined to say how many other people the agency was investigating over similar correspondence. Cathy O'Gara, who along with her husband has helped organize anti-Trump protests in Pinellas County and criticized Ingoglia's local-government audits, said she believed the visit was meant to intimidate rather than protect public safety. After the incident drew press coverage, Ingoglia's office received dozens of postcards from around the country repeating the same message.