The story and man behind the ‘Leaving Maga’ billboard in Tallahassee

A new billboard has joined Tallahassee's roadside landscape, directing people to a budding organization called "Leaving MAGA."

The Florida man behind the sign said the advertisement wasn't created to "troll" Republicans, the president or his supporters, but rather to extend a hand to people a part of the "Make America Great Again" movement who may be having second thoughts about their beliefs.

For seven years, the Parkland resident served as a grassroots organizer and right-wing pundit for the likes of Fox News. He posed for photos at Mar-a-Lago. He created a podcast, warning listeners that liberals were poised to take their guns, indoctrinate their children and replace them at the ballot box.

Having been one of them, Rich Logis said he wanted to create a space for people to work through any ideological struggles with support.

"It's our belief as an organization that there are more people in MAGA than ever who are starting to have doubts about their support for Trump and MAGA," Logis said.

The billboard, located near the interstate on North Monroe Street, dons a simple message: "Having doubts? You are not alone." It then steers drivers to the website leavingmaga.org.

The idea is to keep it simple and be inviting, Logis said. His organization isn't there to change people's minds or push a platform people must agree with.

"We don't think that anyone can change the person," he said. "The change has to come from within the individual."

For Logis, his allegiance faded as anti-vaxxers gained a foothold in the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The murder of 19 children and two teachers at Uvalde Elementary School was the final straw. Months later, on what he now calls his "leaving MAGAversary," Logis published a mea culpa online, apologizing for amplifying the conspiracy theories that "resulted in unnecessary death, trauma and suffering."

Logis said he left the MAGA movement in August 2022, and the organization was launched shortly after once he learned people wanted to hear his story. Building a new community seemed to be the best path forward.

"MAGA is a political community — it's where people find camaraderie and feelings of gathering and belonging," he told the Tallahassee Democrat in an interview. "Those feelings are very intoxicating, and we all need to have community."

Logis has planted 16 billboards in various states around the country in hopes of growing that community and letting people know they're there, and he's already received calls from drivers who the billboards' message has resonated with.

Aside from Florida's capital, the campaign can be seen in Fort Myers, Orlando and Miami, with West Palm Beach and the Villages getting billboards within the next month. Logis said his goal is to have billboards up in all 50 states by the end of the year.

"We welcome people of all differing beliefs, we don't require anyone to have to think a certain way," Logis said. "We want people to have the comfort and the space and the time needed to process the changing of their mind because for me, something I had to come to terms with was that a lot of the beliefs I held turned out to be false."

The Palm Beach Post contributed to this report. Elena Barrera can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on X: @elenabarreraaa.