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Jorge Diaz Jhonston: Ex-Miami mayor's brother and Florida gay marriage pioneer found dead

'I am profoundly appreciative of the outpouring of support shown to me, my brother-in-law Don, and my family,' Manny wrote after his brother's death

The brother of former Miami mayor Manny Diaz and a gay rights activist, who had gone missing since January 3, was found dead in a Florida landfill on Saturday, January 8, in what investigators are considering to be a homicide. 

Jorge Diaz-Johnston, 54, is the brother of Diaz, the mayor of Miami from 2001 to 2009. Tallahassee police announced on Wednesday that his body was discovered in a trash pile at a landfill in Baker, Florida, roughly 60 miles east of the Alabama border. "I am profoundly appreciative of the outpouring of support shown to me, my brother-in-law Don, and my family after the loss of my brother, Jorge Diaz-Johnston," Manny, 68, wrote of his brother in a tweet after the latter's death. "My brother was such a special gift to this world whose heart and legacy will continue to live on for generations to come." Some of the other activists who recently lost their lives include Timuel Black, Bob Moses, Ahmed Hassan and Charles Grodin. 

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No arrests have been made after a missing person report was filed by the family, which led to the discovery of Diaz-Johnston's body. The police said that an investigation is ongoing. 

Who is Jorge Diaz-Johnston?

Diaz-Johnston had last been spotted near his workplace. He had been married to his husband, Don Diaz-Johnston, 51, since March 2015. He and his spouse had been plaintiffs in a 2014 lawsuit against the Miami-Dade County Clerk’s Office after officials had refused to issue same-sex marriage licenses. After the judge sided with the plaintiffs, Miami-Dade County became the first county in the state to legalize same-sex marriages. Jorge and Don were among the first to get married the following year.

“We are heartbroken to learn of the death of Jorge,” Equality Florida, the group behind the petition, said Thursday. “He and his husband Don were two of the brave plaintiffs who took on Florida’s anti-gay marriage ban and helped win marriage equality for all Floridians.”  

In a statement Wednesday on Facebook, Don said there were “no words” for the loss. “I can’t stop crying as I try and write this,” he wrote. “But he meant so much to all of you as he did to me. So I am fighting through tears to share with you our loss of him.” At the time, after winning the case against the county, Jorge told NBC Miami, "For us, it's not just only a question of love and wanting to express our love and have the benefits that everyone else has in the state, but it's an issue of equality, and it's a civil rights issue."

Daniella Levine Cava, the current mayor of Miami, praised Diaz-Johnston's for his advocacy role for LGBTQ rights in the city. "In Jorge Diaz-Johnston, we lost a champion, a leader, and a fighter for our LGBTQ community," she tweeted. "His tragic loss will be felt profoundly by all who loved him, as we honor his life and legacy."

Elizabeth Schwartz, who represented the six couples in the case, noted how hard they two had to fight just to marry. "They fought so hard for their love to be enshrined and to be able to enjoy the institution of marriage, and for the marriage to end in this way - in this gruesome, heartbreaking way - there are no words," Schwartz said.