![\"Rep.](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/MIA_147_Florida_Legislation_Session_2026_MJO.JPG\" "\\"Rep.")
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Rep. Fabian Basabe, R-Miami Beach, attends the first day of the 2026 legislative session at the Florida State Capitol on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Tallahassee.<\/p>\n
Photo by Matias J. Ocner<\/p>\n
mocner@miamiherald.com<\/p>\n
A jury found Florida Rep. Fabian Basabe liable Wednesday in a Tallahassee civil trial accusing him of sexual harassment, battery and defamation.<\/p>\n
An attorney for the plaintiffs told the Miami Herald after the verdict was read that the total amount the jury awarded in damages was $450,000.<\/p>\n
Basabe\u2019s net worth at the end of last year was over $3.7 million, according to a financial disclosure form filed in June.<\/p>\n
The case involved allegations by a former legislative aide and a former intern for Basabe, a Miami Beach Republican.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have been vindicated,\u201d Cynthia Myers, an attorney for the plaintiffs, told the Herald. \u201cThis is what happens when things are fair and when justice is allowed to take its course.\u201d<\/p>\n
Basabe did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n
The jury in Leon County Circuit Court sat through three days of arguments and witness testimony this week that was consistently interrupted by chaos and controversy stemming from Basabe\u2019s decision to represent himself without an attorney.<\/p>\n
During closing arguments Wednesday, Judge J. Lee Marsh seemed prepared to take the extreme step of effectively rendering Basabe liable in the case after he repeatedly violated court orders about what could and could not be mentioned in front of the jury.<\/p>\n
Had Marsh taken that step \u2014 known in legal parlance as striking Basabe\u2019s affirmative defenses \u2014 the jury would have only had to determine monetary damages against Basabe on each count, skipping the step of deciding whether to hold Basabe liable.<\/p>\n
Instead, Marsh let Basabe complete his closing arguments before sending the jury off to deliberate. The judge acknowledged it was a \u201ctough decision,\u201d saying that, if an attorney had done what Basabe did in the courtroom, Marsh likely would have referred him to the Florida Bar for sanctions.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m concerned this process has been so tainted that they\u2019re unable to make an informed, intelligent decision under the rules of evidence and procedure,\u201d Marsh said.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: \u2018He\u2019s not stupid\u2019: Miami Beach lawmaker fumbles through sexual harassment trial<\/a><\/p>\n Basabe, a former reality TV personality and socialite who was first elected to the Florida House in 2022, appeared flustered.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m kind of freaking out right now,\u201d Basabe told the judge, asking for a brief recess.<\/p>\n When he returned, Basabe struck a conciliatory tone, depicting his violations as \u201cgood-faith mistakes by a self-represented litigant trying to navigate the rules that attorneys spend years learning.\u201d<\/p>\n Basabe told Marsh that, during the recess, he ran a draft of his closing argument \u201cthrough two different programs\u201d to make it shorter and compliant with the judge\u2019s orders.<\/p>\n Basabe subsequently told the jury he \u201chad no idea how difficult\u201d it would be to represent himself at trial.<\/p>\n \u201cThank you for your patience,\u201d he concluded. \u201cI\u2019m putting my life in your hands.\u201d<\/p>\n READ MORE: \u2018Always a loser\u2019: Rep. Basabe doubles down on vilifying ex-aide at harassment trial<\/a><\/p>\n Basabe\u2019s former aide, Nicolas Frevola, testified that Basabe slapped him in the face and told him to stand in a corner at a private event in January 2023, and that Basabe slapped his butt without his consent a month prior.<\/p>\n A former intern for Basabe, Jacob Cutbirth, accused Basabe of trying to kiss him and touch him inappropriately and of making unwelcome sexual comments.<\/p>\n Frevola and his mother, Janette, also alleged that Basabe defamed them in a statement he posted on Twitter after an investigation into the 2023 incident commissioned by the Florida House came back with a finding of \u201cinconclusive.\u201d<\/p>\n Frevola and Cutbirth testified that Basabe\u2019s behavior took a big emotional toll and changed the trajectory of their careers, steering them away from politics.<\/p>\n Myers, the plaintiffs\u2019 attorney, said the jury awarded the $450,000 in damages based on past suffering that Frevola and Cutbirth experienced. Frevola and Cutbirth were awarded $100,000 each on the sexual harassment count and $75,000 each on the battery count, she said.<\/p>\n Frevola was also awarded $100,000 on the defamation count, Myers said. The jury found Basabe liable for defaming both Frevola and his mother via the Twitter post but only awarded damages to the son.<\/p>\n Basabe, 48, fumbled his way through the trial, often seeming confused about the legal proceedings.<\/p>\n At one point Wednesday, after the plaintiffs\u2019 lawyer talked about her request to strike Basabe\u2019s affirmative defenses, Basabe told the judge: \u201cYour honor, I don\u2019t even know what she just said, so if I\u2019m allowed to or supposed to, I\u2019d like to object to whatever that is and have time to figure out what that is so I can respond.\u201d<\/p>\n On numerous occasions, an attorney for the plaintiffs cut Basabe off while he questioned witnesses or addressed the jury because he raised issues that the judge had deemed off limits before the trial began.<\/p>\n This story was originally published July 15, 2026 at 7:14 PM.<\/p>\n