The PULSE Nightclub has now been demolished.For those of us who have been vocal about the importance of that building, this moment carries r
Posting this early so I can circulate it throughout the day/as the 10th anniversary of the PULSE Nightclub shooting passes.
I originally queued this up in March when I had the spoons to do so, and because it was around this time that the building was demolished by the City of Orlando. In case the link above doesn't work, I will copy and paste the article contents (links preserved where possible) here.
I've also edited this post as pertinent information has come out, so if you see any interjections/later events mentioned, this is why.
If you don't have the energy to read it all, then please at the very least bookmark and save their Timeline for Accountability. It was last updated in November, 2025.
And in case Tumblr deletes this post, or me, you can find all of this information on the aforementioned links, as well as this write up on my NeoCities (which also features a more interactive memorial for the victims).
First and foremost, though, I want to highlight the victims. They matter most.
May these beautiful souls rest in peace, and may we never forget their names (hopefully in picture order! I tried to fix it but Tumblr kept lagging my draft):
Stanley Almodovar III, 23
Amanda Alvear, 25
Oscar A Aracena-Montero, 26
Rodolfo Ayala-Ayala, 33
Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21
Martin Benitez Torres, 33
Antonio D Brown, 30
Darryl R Burt II, 29
Jonathan A Camuy Vega, 24
Angel L Candelario-Padro, 28
Simon A Carrillo Fernandez, 31
Juan Chevez-Martinez, 25
Luis D Conde, 39
Cory J Connell, 21
Tevin E Crosby, 25
Franky J Dejesus Velazquez, 50
Deonka D Drayton, 32
Mercedes M Flores, 26
Peter O Gonzalez-Cruz, 22
Juan R Guerrero, 22
Paul T Henry, 41
Frank Hernandez, 27
Miguel A Honorato, 30
Javier Jorge-Reyes, 40
Jason B Josaphat, 19
Eddie J Justice, 30
Anthony L Laureano Disla, 25
Christopher A Leinonen, 32
Brenda L Marquez McCool, 49
Jean C Mendez Perez, 35
Akyra Monet Murray, 18
Kimberly Morris, 37
Jean C Nieves Rodriguez, 27
Luis O Ocasio-Capo, 20
Geraldo A Ortiz-Jimenez, 25
Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, 36
Joel Rayon Paniagua, 32
Enrique L Rios Jr, 25
Juan P Rivera Velazquez, 37
Yilmary Rodriguez Solivan, 24
Christopher J Sanfeliz, 24
Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado, 35
Gilberto Ramon Silva Menendez, 25
Edward Sotomayor Jr, 34
Shane E Tomlinson, 33
Leroy Valentin Fernandez, 25
Luis S Vielma, 22
Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, 37
Jerald A Wright, 31
Now, onto the article and similarly relevant information. For those who really refuse to read the testimony of the survivors and the victims' families, I'm just going to leave you with this message:
The time for relying on those above us is over. We MUST kill the plague of individualism and build community. If we don’t support one another, nobody will. No amount of pinkwashing, placation, or sanitation will change that.
There is no room for white supremacy, plain and simple.
Enough of this shit! Stop doing the work of the state because y'all wanna hate BIQOC (Black, Indigenous, and Queers of Color). Stop doing the work of the state because you wanna hate transfeminized individuals and push them out of the community on flimsy ass bioessentialism and "socialization" theory.
We are here. We are queer. We will never forget, and we cannot allow ourselves to. The time to act was yesterday. The time to be an ally was yesterday. You are either with the queer community, or you are against it.
WE CANNOT BE FREE UNTIL EVERYONE IS FREE, SO WAKE THE FUCK UP AND HELP YOUR MARGINALIZED SIBLINGS. GET MORE INTERSECTIONAL NOW !!
Now that that's out of the way...
The following was written by Pulse Families and Survivors for Justice, formerly known as the Community Coalition Agaisnt a Pulse Museum, who are a grassroots collective of those both directly and indirectly impacted by the mass shooting. The collective was established in 2019 when it was found out that the nightclub owner, Barbara Poma, established the OnePULSE Foundation and planned to build a $45M memorial museum campus. Instead, she and the city of Orlando exploited and defrauded the city's queer community. This is their story:
The PULSE Nightclub has now been demolished.
For those of us who have been vocal about the importance of that building, this moment carries real consequences — not just emotionally, but legally and historically. We had been documenting the unpermitted renovations and code violations still visible within the structure, work that was essential on multiple levels: to expose the City of Orlando's regulatory failures and cover-up, to put on record the PULSE owners' negligence and compliance failures, and above all, to serve justice.
That last point cannot be overstated.
The lawyers representing victims' families and survivors in an ongoing premises liability lawsuit against the PULSE owners — a lawsuit that, for reasons worth scrutinizing, has faded to the background and been largely ignored by local corporate media — sought an emergency injunction to stop the demolition (see file below). Their goal was straightforward: preserve physical evidence ahead of an upcoming jury trial. The judge, however, had issues with the process.
Notably, City Attorney Mayanne Downs reached out directly to the judge in that case — putting the City's finger on the scales of justice.
We would not have known about this communication had the judge not mentioned her email in his ruling. This is because Ms. Downs used her private email with her law firm DownsAaron, instead of her public City of Orlando email, despite this being official City business.
Back in 2019, when we discovered Ms. Downs was using her GrayRobinson email, concealing PULSE records, we asked her to stop doing using her private emails to conduct official City business for public transparency.
Her recent email to the bench shows that, years later, she has not complied with our request.
A Property With a Troubled Chain of Title
This lawsuit does not exist in a vacuum. Victims' families and survivors have alleged that the nightclub property's ownership is itself under question — that it was illegally transferred to two LLCs in the aftermath of the shooting to shield the asset from victims and survivors pursuing legal action.
The City of Orlando knew this. And it purchased the property anyway.
In doing so, the City took control of both the real estate and the narrative. What has followed is exactly what that kind of institutional control looks like in practice: an onslaught of press releases, a carefully managed public relations drip campaign, and the deliberate use of PULSE to build Orlando's brand as a "resilient community" — a brand that purposely ignores the City's own failures, abuses, and lack of accountability.
The Promise of Transparency — And the Reality
The City of Orlando has promised transparency. That is not what we are getting.
We have formally requested that the City publish updated memorial budgets and itemized expense reports — so the public can see how much is being spent on memorial construction, track expenditures in real time, understand who is being paid and how much, and determine whether the project is on track to meet or exceed its $12 million budget.
Remember, this is taxpayer money that is funding this project. Not donations, as the City was not able to raise funds as it had thought it would.
Instead, to access this information, the public is required to navigate the City's Public Records department — a process known for its delays and associated fees. This is not transparency. Transparency means accessible, timely, proactive disclosure. Timeliness is not a courtesy; it is foundational to both accountability and trust. For the past ten years, the City of Orlando has not provided it.
We need the ability to track the City's PULSE memorial expenses in real time. Anything less is a failure of the public trust.
The Rainbow: Mockery Dressed as Spiritual Symbolism
When the City of Orlando released photos and video footage of the PULSE demolition to the media, it included imagery of construction crews using a hose to create a rainbow effect as water sprayed across the building being torn down.
To those outside the PULSE community, this may have seemed like a lighthearted or even poignant moment. It was neither.
The rainbow is not a prop. For the PULSE-affected community, the rainbow carries deep spiritual and symbolic weight. A natural rainbow appeared over PULSE and other remembrance events in the years since the shooting, carrying profound spiritual meaning — a sign, a presence, a moment of connection to those who were lost.
What the City staged — and it was staged, captured, and distributed to media — was a manufactured imitation of something sacred.
It reduced a symbol of spiritual significance to a marketing opportunity for the City as it demolished the PULSE building. This was not a tribute. It was a mockery. And the fact that it was packaged and sent to local media as a feel-good image in the midst of destroying a crime scene speaks to exactly the kind of institutional tone-deafness — or worse, calculated image management — that this community has endured for nearly a decade at the hands of the City of Orlando.
These Are Public Records. They Belong to You.
The City documented the demolition of PULSE for what it described as "archival purposes."
The City's video footage and photographs were paid for by taxpayers. And yet, rather than releasing them to the public, the City has only sent them to the media for its own branding and marketing purposes — apparently reserving public viewing for future display at the proposed Visitor Pavilion, which the City intends to build for tourists at the planned memorial site.
Yes, publicly funded recordings of the destruction of a mass shooting site, withheld from the public so they can be curated and exhibited on the City's terms, for the City's memorial, to serve the City's narrative and future marketing purposes.
We are releasing these images and videos to the public for widespread use. These are public records. They belong to everyone. They are not the City's story to tell alone — and they are not to be locked away until Orlando is ready to present its preferred version of history to visitors.
You can download them here: [1] [2]
We deserve accountability, not a brand.
We deserve evidence, not erasure.
We deserve a city that serves us — not one that uses our tragedy to serve itself.
We will continue to report on the premises liability lawsuit, the memorial budget, and the City's PULSE memorial. If you have information to share, please reach out.
And because of this, the families and survivors are asking Senator Carlos G. Smith (D-District 17, FL) for help in establishing an independent investigative PULSE commission, just as there was one made for Parkland after that mass shooting.
If you wish to help, you can contact Sen. Smith using the information below:
Here is the request that PULSE Families sent, for reference:
Dear Senator Carlos Guillermo Smith,
We are writing to respectfully ask on this sacred week that you lead legislation establishing an independent commission to comprehensively review the failures surrounding the PULSE nightclub, the shooting response, the aftermath, and the actions of the onePULSE Foundation.
As Florida’s first openly LGBTQ+ Latino state senator and a person that some of us knew prior to the shooting and your election into public office, your leadership on this issue would carry profound significance across the country. The LGBTQ+ community deserves more than symbolic remembrance and rainbow washing. It deserves truth, transparency, and the courage to confront institutional failures honestly that have directly impacted our LGBTQ+ community.
When you first ran for State Representative in District 49, your campaign slogan was “District 49 for the 49”—a promise that you would fight for us, the victims, survivors, and families of the Pulse tragedy. Now, as a State Senator, you are in a position to help fulfill that promise by leading the effort to establish an independent commission and pursue the accountability that families and survivors have sought for nearly a decade.
We urge you to sponsor legislation to establish an independent PULSE commission during the upcoming legislative session.
After a decade of providing evidence to law enforcement agencies and filing formal complaints, our families and survivors continue to request transparency, accountability, and an honest public record. While problematic reports and reviews have been published over the years, there has never been an independent investigation into these unresolved issues, despite substantial and mounting evidence that some of these could result in criminal violations.
A legislatively authorized commission with the scope and authority necessary to investigate the totality of what occurred—during and after the June 12, 2016 shooting—would resolve the investigatory failures that we have seen play out in the City of Orlando for the past decade. It would provide the public and the victims’ families and survivors with clarity when so many of the facts have been concealed and obscured by City officials through inconsistent public statements, the illegal withholding of public records, selective disclosures, and false/misleading narratives.
Such a commission would mirror the model established following the Parkland shooting through the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission. That process created a formal mechanism to investigate systemic failures, preserve records, hear testimony, and make findings and recommendations independent of local political pressures.
A similar commission for PULSE would examine these important issues:
Law enforcement and emergency response failures, including the failure to follow Active Shooter Protocol and the failure of not having an Active Shooter/Assailant Policy;
Building, zoning, and fire code enforcement issues, including allegations of preferential treatment and selective enforcement by the City of Orlando, evidence of overcrowding at PULSE and illegal renovations and blocked exits that hindered escape and rescue, and Conditional Use Permit violations.
The long-term handling of public records and transparency concerns (City of Orlando and Orange County Sheriff’s Office under former OPD Police Chief John Mina);
The role, finances, governance, and public representations of the onePULSE Foundation;
The misuse of donations and taxpayer money by the onePULSE Foundation and the City of Orlando;
The role of public institutions in interfering with investigations and spreading false information to the public, including the alleged secret removal of a bullet that was never taken into evidence from the PULSE Nightclub by Pamela Schwartz—former Executive Director of the Orange County Regional History Center.
Real estate transactions involving Barbara and Rosario Poma, the City of Orlando, Craig Mateer, the onePULSE Foundation, and the involvement of City officials, along with alleged real estate fraud.
For many of us, the absence of an independent review has prolonged injustice, sown distrust, and left questions unresolved. Accountability and historical accuracy are not acts of division; they are necessary components of public trust, institutional learning, and justice for those directly impacted.
Thank you for your consideration. We welcome the opportunity to discuss this further or provide additional documentation and research supporting the need for such a commission.
Attached is the legislation that created the Parkland Commission.
Sincerely,
PULSE Families and Survivors for Justice
VictimsFirst
Of course, once more... it is important to note that the individuals mentioned (Barbara Poma, the Orlando City Council, etc.) are not the only ones involved in making this state an unsafe place for its queer community. I mean, they play pretty big parts (especially those government officials, as the Office of the State Attorney for the Ninth Judicial District DENIED pursuing involuntary manslaughter charges despite the overwhelming proof of the failed building code directly resulting in several preventable deaths that night), but...
That is just the tip of the iceberg, because if you’ve been active in your advocacy for the community (or at the very least, following me for a decent period of time)… Then you know just how unsafe Florida has become.
You know how, even under the Biden administration, people like Governor Ron DeSantis have gone unchallenged in their writing and enforcement of vile legislation. You know how this legislation has begun creeping its way up to the top, to the federal level, and remained unchallenged the whole way up.
And you know that the complacency of the Democratic party's most popular names (ex: Gavin Newsome) in allowing queer (and especially trans) politics to become a matter of "debate" has only made things so. Much. Worse. Especially when literal Nazis are being endorsed as the ideal candidate (ex: Graham Platner).
As I said at the beginning. The time for relying on those above us is over. If we don’t support one another, nobody will. The time to act was yesterday. The time to be an ally was yesterday. You are either with the queer community, or you are against it. We need to fucking do better.
REMEMBERING PULSE NIGHTCLUB - COMMUNITY COALITION AGAINST ONEPULSE
The only prominent post going around about the Pulse Nightclub shooting in 2016 is my own, and is unfortunately cursed to the fate of receiving reblogs of an inaccurate version. So, 8 years later, I'm doing the right thing and making a new post to properly honor the victims and their families.
May these beautiful souls rest in peace, and may we never forget their names (not in picture order, afaik):
Stanley Almodovar III, 23
Amanda Alvear, 25
Oscar A Aracena-Montero, 26
Rodolfo Ayala-Ayala, 33
Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21
Martin Benitez Torres, 33
Antonio D Brown, 30
Darryl R Burt II, 29
Jonathan A Camuy Vega, 24
Angel L Candelario-Padro, 28
Simon A Carrillo Fernandez, 31
Juan Chevez-Martinez, 25
Luis D Conde, 39
Cory J Connell, 21
Tevin E Crosby, 25
Franky J Dejesus Velazquez, 50
Deonka D Drayton, 32
Mercedes M Flores, 26
Peter O Gonzalez-Cruz, 22
Juan R Guerrero, 22
Paul T Henry, 41
Frank Hernandez, 27
Miguel A Honorato, 30
Javier Jorge-Reyes, 40
Jason B Josaphat, 19
Eddie J Justice, 30
Anthony L Laureano Disla, 25
Christopher A Leinonen, 32
Brenda L Marquez McCool, 49
Jean C Mendez Perez, 35
Akyra Monet Murray, 18
Kimberly Morris, 37
Jean C Nieves Rodriguez, 27
Luis O Ocasio-Capo, 20
Geraldo A Ortiz-Jimenez, 25
Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, 36
Joel Rayon Paniagua, 32
Enrique L Rios Jr, 25
Juan P Rivera Velazquez, 37
Yilmary Rodriguez Solivan, 24
Christopher J Sanfeliz, 24
Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado, 35
Gilberto Ramon Silva Menendez, 25
Edward Sotomayor Jr, 34
Shane E Tomlinson, 33
Leroy Valentin Fernandez, 25
Luis S Vielma, 22
Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, 37
Jerald A Wright, 31
Will it gain the traction it needs? Probably not. But I'm not as... distant, about today, as I have been over the years. Because let's face it... This hits close to home for me. I said this in my original posting, too:
As someone who lives relatively near Orlando, I remember this day so vividly and I still feel a lot of pain for the victims even five years later.
I remember biting back tears in my living room because I wasn't out of the closet, and couldn't let my family know just how much this hurt me. I remember breaking down that night while scrolling the headlines, watching as the number of fatalities kept climbing. I remember staring at the button on Facebook asking me if I was safe.
And to this day, even with those involved and responsible gone... I still do not feel safe as a queer man in this state or in this country.
More importantly, though, it's important to highlight the community impacted by it, and the way onePULSE and its founder (Barbara Poma), the city of Orlando, and the State of Florida have exploited and continue to exploit the deaths of these individuals.
Information from here on out will be taken from the Community Coalition Agaisnt a Pulse Museum's official website, which can be found at the following link: [ LINK ]
The Community Coalition Against a Pulse Museum (CCAPM) is a group of surviving victims, family members of victims, activists, and scholars who have banded together to fight against the onePULSE Foundation's privatized memorial and museum complex. Our position is that money raised in the name of the mass shooting should go to the continued care of survivors. A public memorial park that does not seek to capitalize on the mass shooting in any way is the only option for a just memorial.
In addition, we seek justice for mass shooting victims by exposing the history and scope of unpermitted renovations and code violations at Pulse, which impaired the escape and rescue of shooting victims. We believe that Pulse owners Rosario Poma and Barbara Poma should be held accountable for these violations, rather than continuing to profit from a tragedy that was exacerbated by their illegal business decisions. We also want to see the City of Orlando held accountable for their continued failure to enforce the law and bring the business into compliance.
So what are the prominent issues?
WE ARE AGAINST COMMODIFYING MASS MURDER
The onePULSE Foundation has placed a gift shop feet away from where 49 people were murdered on the site of the interim memorial. We firmly renounce putting any price tag on the murder of our loved ones. The proposed museum is also slated to have a gift shop and a price of admission.
WE ARE AGAINST TURNING A PUBLIC TRAGEDY INTO PRIVATE PROFITS
Pulse nightclub owner, Barbara Poma, refused to sell the property to the City of Orlando for a public memorial. Instead, she created the onePULSE Foundation and has taken an executive salary in her self-made position as CEO. Perks have also included national recognition, celebrity, political connections, and undeserved accolades as an LGBTQ+ ally.
WE ARE AGAINST TURNING A MASS SHOOTING INTO A TOURIST ATTRACTION
The onePULSE Foundation has received a $10 MILLION tourism development tax grant from Orange County for the building of a museum. The tax application shows how the proposed memorial/museum complex has been intended to increase tourism during the off-season. The corporate Board of Trustees also reflects the local tourism industry.
WE SUPPORT INVESTING IN THE CONTINUED CARE OF SURVIVORS
Money raised in the name of the mass shooting at Pulse is going to multi-million dollar buildings rather than the continued care of the people who were directly affected. Available services and organizations have not provided adequate care to survivors and the onePULSE Foundation has not stepped in to fill any gaps; focusing instead on cultural and "educational" programs, while ignoring the ongoing needs of survivors.
WE CALL OUT A CHANGING MISSION
For years, the onePULSE Foundation raised funds for community grants for victims' families and survivors. In 2019, "community grants" were removed from the organization's mission. According to the released 2018 990s, only $1k was spent on community grants. People have donated money to the organization thinking that they were helping survivors.
WE ACKNOWLEDGE CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
onePULSE Foundation CEO Barbara Poma is currently being sued by survivors and victims' families as part of a security negligence lawsuit. This lawsuit also alleges the illegal transfer of the Pulse nightclub property which was transferred via quit claim deed in the months after the shooting to two other LLCs owned by Barbara and Rosario Poma. Funds raised by the non-profit are being invested in the Pulse property that the Poma's still own.
As of 2024, this case is still pending, with the latest service list being posted on the docket as of June 11. The case number is publicly available (2018-CA-006102-O) and is searchable via the Orange County Clerk of Courts Record Search.
WE AFFIRM A PUBLIC MEMORIAL PARK IS STILL POSSIBLE
Public memorial parks have been the overwhelming response to mass shootings around the country, including Aurora, Columbine, Las Vegas, and Newtown. Most have been built by volunteers, with no executive salaries. The OnePULSE Foundation's proposed museum attraction seeks to unnecessarily turn the shooting into a spectacle and requires merchandising the tragedy. Mass murder is not for sale!
WE CONTINUE TO EXPOSE UNPERMITTED RENOVATIONS AND CODE VIOLATIONS
Public records affirm that Pulse Nightclub was a death trap due to its unpermitted renovations and code violations. Documents show that these issues affected the both the escape and rescue of Pulse survivors on June 12, 2016. We continue to collect, document, and uncover these issues since the City of Orlando has still not released all relevant records to the public.
Survivors of the incident, as well as their families and those who have faced similar tragedy, have also signed an open letter [ LINK ] calling attention to these issues, provided documented evidence of the above claims [ LINK ], and have also been running a petition since 2019 to call attention to the matter:
Orlando City Council: Stop profit on blood shed
Of course, it is important to note that the individuals mentioned (Barbara Poma, the Orlando City Council, etc.) are not the only ones involved in making this state an unsafe place for its queer community.
As noted in my original posting as well, the unsafe nature of this state runs through its government. The fight for our rights, our recognition, and our safety still continues. Here are some facts from the original post (dated June 12, 2021):
In June 2021, the Governor of Florida vetoed an "item-lined budget bill" - that legally provides mental health, counseling, and compensation directly towards victims of the June 2016 Pulse nightclub Orlando shooting.
While they cannot be enforced, sodomy laws still exist in Florida to this day. Every year, we are still criminalized by a technicality.
In many places, same-sex domestic partnerships are still not granted. It is only viable in approximately nine counties, thirty cities, and one town.
It took until 2016 for same-sex couples to be granted the same parental rights during in vitro fertilization and surrogacy as opposite-sex couples. Before then, the non-biological mother and father was not the child's legal parent nor guardian.
The state's "hate crime law" only accounts for sexual orientation, and does not protect victims who were attacked for their gender identity.
Anti-discrimination laws for sexual orientation and gender identity are not state-wide nor equally applicable within each county/town.
On June 1, 2021, Governor of Florida Ron DeSantis signed a bill to exclude transgender women from participating in sports designated for female students. This bill passed because of a last-minute legislative "procedural maneuver". The HRC is currently establishing a campaign to try and stop the law from going into effect (called "nullification") on midnight July 1.
Gay-panic and Trans-panic are still viable legal defenses, resulting in these abhorrent hate crimes to be decreased from murder to the lesser charge of manslaughter.
Conversion therapy against minors is not banned state-wide, and is still legal within many areas of the state. In fact, in some areas, a ban on the practice is deemed "unenforceable".
And that is just the tip of the iceberg, because if you've been active in your advocacy for the community (or at the very least, following me for a decent period of time)... Then you know just how unsafe Florida has become. You know how, even under the Biden administration, people like Governor Ron DeSantis have gone unchallenged in their writing and enforcement of vile legislation. You know how this legislation has begun creeping its way up to the top, to the federal level, and remained unchallenged the whole way up.
Here are some more "fun facts" about just how much we must fight against in the wake of this tragedy:
States like Florida have eliminated 80% of all trans adult care (SB 254), adults can be thrown in jail for using the bathroom of their gender identity (SB 1674), and trans people with correct gender markers on their drivers licenses can be charged with fraud (Florida Dept. of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles memo).
The State of Florida has had several travel advisories issued against it by local LGBTQ+ organizations (e.g., Equality Florida) and national organizations (e.g., Human Rights Campaign).
Likewise, many social media laws targeting "adult content and pornography" (HB 3) include sneaky, vague language that will very much target the existence of queer folk using the internet in this state.
More states within the United States are explicitly passing anti-trans legislation than not, and moreso now than ever [ source; dated June 4th ].
The time for relying on those above us is over. We MUST kill the plague of individualism and build community. If we don't support one another, nobody will. No amount of pinkwashing, placation, or sanitation will change that.
We are here. We are queer. We will never forget, and we cannot allow ourselves to.
Our movement, which began as #nopulsemuseum and grew into #justice4Pulse is now PULSE FAMILIES AND SURVIVORS FOR JUSTICE. And we are finally being heard.
There is still a lot to be said, a lot to get into further, and justice to be had.... but this is a great start. We have answers for some of the questions asked here and we look forward to providing more answers on our website.
