Florida
Latest Coverage
See all articles
Florida school board member lawsuit says Rep. Donalds threatened her
A Florida school board member is suing U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds over an alleged threatening confrontation in 2022.
The lawsuit claims Donalds aggressively cornered and berated Kelly Mason in a Naples grocery store.
A Florida school board member who was involved in a lengthy legal dispute with the wife of U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds is suing the Republican gubernatorial candidate over an alleged threatening confrontation almost four years ago.
The lawsuit was filed Tuesday, July 7 in Collier County Circuit Court by school board member Kelly Mason. It claims Donalds “aggressively cornered” Mason at a Naples grocery store and “berated and insulted her.”
“Defendant’s words, demeanor, physical position, and coordinated actions were calculated to place Plaintiff in immediate fear of bodily harm and succeeded in doing exactly that,” the Mason lawsuit claims. “Plaintiff feared imminent violence."
"This is a baseless, politically motivated attack and shameful publicity stunt designed to damage Byron Donalds in the 2026 election. This individual has a long history of unsuccessful litigation against the Donalds family," said campaign Communications Director Gates McGavick in a text message Wednesday. "Floridians deserve better news coverage than lazy reprints of a tabloid."
Lawsuit contends Byron Donalds threatened to 'crush' Kelly Mason
Donalds also allegedly told Mason he would “finish” or “crush” her over her litigation involving his wife, Erika Donalds. That case, which was settled in 2024, centered on control of a charter school founded in 2012 by Mason called Mason Classical Academy.
Mason contended that Erika Donalds, who sat on the academy’s advisory board, sought to gain control of the school and use it to launch a chain of similar for-profit schools. Donalds denied that.
Where and when did the Byron Donalds-Kelly Mason confrontation take place?
With that lawsuit pending, Mason was at a Naples store called Seed to Table with her two daughters and then-husband on Aug. 23, 2022 when the incident with Donalds allegedly took place. Donalds is said to have tried to get Mason to drop the case against his wife.
The lawsuit was filed by Mason’s attorney Anthony Sabatini of Mount Dora, a former Republican state House member. The lawsuit says Donalds violated state law by acting in a way that “creates a well-founded fear in another that imminent violence is about to occur.”
Lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and no claim of physical harm
There is no claim that Donalds ever touched Mason or her children and the case is civil, not criminal. It seeks unspecified damages for “emotional distress, mental anguish, humiliation, anxiety” and fear her children could be harmed.
Donalds is a three-term congressman who represents the Naples area. He is running for governor to replace Republican Ron DeSantis, who cannot run again because of term limits.
Donalds, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump, has amassed a huge campaign war chest and most polls show him leading the GOP field with a primary coming up Aug. 18.
The other top GOP candidates are Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, former state House speaker Paul Renner and James Fishback. The top Democratic candidate is David Jolly, who was a former Republican congressman from Pinellas County.
Mason has served on the Collier County school board since November 2022 and is seeking another four-year term this year. She did not respond to an email seeking comment on the lawsuit.