Is it legal to run over protesters in Florida? How to stay safe at 'No Kings' protests

Yahoo

a day ago

Anyone protesting in Florida may want to keep an eye on traffic.
Gov. Ron DeSantis said Floridians have the right to hit protesters with their car if they felt threatened, and state and local officials said "rioting" could bring jail time, or even death.
The governor's comments came ahead of "No Kings" protests planned in nearly 80 cities in Florida on June 14, part of almost 2,000 to be held across the country for Americans objecting to President Donald Trump's policies and the escalating immigration raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The protests are scheduled to counter Trump's planned massive military parade in Washington, D.C.
"We also have a policy that if you're driving on one of those streets and a mob comes and surrounds your vehicle and threatens you, you have a right to flee for your safety," DeSantis said on The Rubin Report on June 11, "and so if you drive off, and you hit one of these people, that's their fault for impinging on you.
"You don't have to sit there and just be a sitting duck and let the mob grab you out of your car and drag you through the streets. You have a right to defend yourself in Florida," he said.
In a Fox News interview, DeSantis said local police, county sheriffs, Highway Patrol and even the National Guard will be ready to stop any violence or 'unrest' at the statewide protests.
'It's a bad decision to try to pull that nonsense in Florida,' DeSantis said.
Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey was even more direct.
"If you throw a brick, a fire bomb, or point a gun at one of our deputies, we will be notifying your family where to collect your remains, because we will kill you, graveyard dead," he said at a press conference with Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier and other lawmakers.
If you plan to attend or participate in a protest in Florida, here's what you should know.
Florida law does not specifically say people can drive into crowds.
But it does provide civil (not criminal) immunity by allowing anyone charged with causing property damage, personal injury or even death to plead self-defense because their actions "arose from" someone "acting in furtherance of a riot."
Self-defense is what James Alex Fields Jr. claimed when he was found guilty of murder in 2017 for driving into a protest, hitting and killing civil rights activist Heather Heyer while she was counterprotesting the white nationalist Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville.
Between May and October 2020, there were over 100 incidents of drivers driving into crowds of protesters, and at least eight of them were in Florida, Vice.com reported. In May 2020, a Georgia man drove his pickup into a crowd of marchers protesting the death of George Floyd. No criminal charges were filed.
DeSantis signed a sweeping "anti-riot" bill in 2021 in the wake of the George Floyd protests to increase punishments for people who violently riot, loot and destroy properties and add several new crimes including "mob intimidation" and "aggravated rioting," calling it the "strongest anti-rioting, most pro-law enforcement piece of legislation in the country."
HB 1 was blocked in the courts for being potentially unconstitutional, chilling against free speech, and overly vague about what defines a "riot."
The Florida Supreme Court ruled in favor of the new law in 2024, clarifying peaceful protesters should not be arrested if involved in a protest where violence occurs, and an appeals court allowed the state to enforce it.
Protesters are not permitted to willfully obstruct the "free, convenient, and normal use" of any public street, highway, or road.
Gatherings of three or more people to commit a break of the peace or commit unlawful acts are considered unlawful assemblies, a second-degree misdemeanor.
Knowingly protesting within 500 feet of a residence, cemetery, funeral home, house of worship, or other location when a funeral or burial has just occurred, will occur soon, or is occurring is a first-degree midemeanor.
A riot is defined as a violent public disturbance involving three or more people acting to assist each other in violent and disorderly conduct. It is a third-degree felony.
Aggravated rioting, a second-degree felony, is a riot consisting of 25 or more people where great bodily harm or property damage is caused, someone displays or uses a deadly weapon, or blocks safe movement of a vehicle by force or threat of force.
Inciting a riot is a third-degree felony. Aggravated inciting a riot, a second-degree felony, occurs if the suspect incites a riot resulting in great bodily harm to a non-participant, property damage in excess of $5,000, or supplies a deadly weapon to another person or teaches them how to prepare one for use in a riot.
Committing assault in furtherance of a riot is a first-degree misdemeanor; an aggravated assault is a third-degree felony. Burglary during a riot is a first-degree felony.
Any group of three or more who act with common intent to use force or threaten to in order to compel someone else into changing a personal viewpoint against their will commits "mob intimidation," a first-degree misdemeanor.
Battery against a law enforcement officer in a riot means a minimum term of six months in jail.
Defacing or damaging a memorial or historical property worth more than $200 is a third-degree felony. Destroying one is a second-degree felony.
Defendants who cause personal injury, wrongful death or property damage to protesters in a riot may claim self-defense.
The law "does not prohibit constitutionally protected activity, such as a peaceful protest," according to Florida statutes.
First and foremost, the "No Kings" website tells participants not to bring any weapons, act in accordance with local laws, and de-escalate any potential confrontation with law enforcement or anti-protesters.
Public protests are protected in the United States by the First Amendment and are legal in public areas providing you are not blocking car or pedestrian traffic or blocking access to government buildings.
That said, law enforcement may interpret your intentions differently and some may act with force.
The Human Rights Campaign advises protesters to scope out the area of the protest ahead of time and identify multiple routes out of the area. An offline-accessible map can help. During the protest, remain aware of your surroundings and what's happening around you.
Protest signs and sunscreen are just the beginning. Experts at Physicians for Human Rights suggest bringing the following:
Backpack or string bag: You won't want anything bulky and you'll want your hands free.
Face mask or bandanna, hat and sunglasses: Useful for helping to shield your eyes from pepper spray or tear gas, can also protect you from identification by law enforcement or online doxxing if that's a concern.
Water: Stay hydrated. Bring as big a bottle as you can, with a squirt top in case you need to quickly wash off your skin or eyes.
Glasses: Avoid wearing contact lenses, which can trap irritating chemicals. If you must wear contacts, wear shatter-resistant goggles with a tight seal. Avoid wearing makeup.
Comfortable clothes, closed shoes: Pick neutral colors without obvious slogans or easily identifiable markings. Consider bringing a spare change of clothes in case what you're wearing gets sprayed.
Identification, contact information: Make sure you can identify yourself (and your citizen status). Write your emergency contact info on your skin. If you have a lawyer, write that number, too.
A few days of any vital medication: Ideally, they should be in a labeled prescription bottle.
Cash: In case you need bail.
Snacks: High energy, high protein munchies are preferred.
Many organizations advise protesters to leave their phones at home to protect their privacy as they can easily be tracked. If you must take your phone, keep it turned off until you need it and, before you go, disable Face ID or fingerprint security and stick with the 6-digit passcode instead. You may also consider buying a cheap secondary phone to use.
According to the No Kings website, more than 75 protests (including several in some cities) are planned across Florida as of June 10.
➤ Find an event near you
Apalachicola
Apopka
Boca Raton
Boynton Beach
Bronson
Casselberry
Clermont
Center Lake Park
Clermont City Hall
Clermont Town
Cocoa
Coral Springs
Davenport
Daytona Beach
DeLand
Delray Beach
Ellenton
Englewood
Fernandina Beach
Fort Lauderdale
Fort Myers
Fort Walton Beach
Gainesville
Hollywood
Inverness
Jacksonville
Duval County Courthouse
Beach Boulevard and Hodges Boulevard
Key Largo
Key West
Kissimmee
Lakeland
Lake Mary
Lake Worth Beach
Largo
Leesburg
Marathon
Miami
Miami Beach
Mount Dora
Naples
New Port Richey
New Smyrna Beach
Ocala
Orlando
Orange City
Orange Park
Palatka
Palm Bay
Palm Beach/Mar-a-Largo
Palm Beach Gardens
Palm Coast
Palm Harbor
Panama City
Pensacola
Ninth Avenue/Airport Boulevard
The Graffiti Bridge
Plant City
Poinciana
Port Charlotte
Port St. Joe
Port St. Lucie
Riverview
Sarasota
University Parkway
J.D. Hamel Park
Sebastian
Sebring
Spring Hill
St. Augustine
St. Johns County
St. Petersburg
Tallahassee
Tampa
The Villages
Venice
Vero Beach
West Palm Beach
According to the ACLU of Florida, the First Amendment generally prohibits restrictions based on speech content; however, this does not mean that the Constitution completely protects all types of speech in every circumstance. Threatening someone with violence is not protected, and government official can place "reasonable" restrictions on the time, place and manner.
Your rights are strongest in "traditional public forms" such as streets, sidewalks and parks, but you can be asked to disperse if you are blocking car or pedestrian traffic. You may also protest at government buildings as long as you don't block access to them or interfere with the purpose of it.
When you are lawfully present in a public space, you have the right to photograph or video anything in plain view, including federal buildings and the police, the ACLU said.
Law enforcement may not confiscate your photos or video without a warrant and may not demand you delete anything, but they can order you to stop if you're interfering with legitimate law enforcement operations.
In Florida, that can be a wide definition. The "HALO" law – Honoring and Listening to Our Officers – went into effect in January.
Under the law, if a first responder such as law enforcement, firefighters and medical personnel ask you to back off in the course of their duties, you must move 25 feet away or face a second-degree misdemeanor charge punishable by up to 60 days in jail or a $500 fine.
(This story was updated because an earlier version included an inaccuracy.)
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Fla Gov. DeSantis OKs running over No Kings protesters if threatened