a day ago
How Florida protest organizers are preparing as LA unrest unfolds
As Alan Kim walked toward a protest at Tampa's City Hall on Monday, he knew there was a chance that counter-protesters or law enforcement might act more harshly than usual.
The day before, President Donald Trump had deployed National Guard troops to demonstrations in Los Angeles protesting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids. Organizers across the country held protests and led marches in support of immigrant communities.
Monday's demonstration drew a crowd of about 100 protesters, a police presence and counter-protesters. Kim, an organizer with the Tampa Bay Immigrant Solidarity Network, said he was 'pleased' that the protest was energetic, with people putting all their energy behind chanting loudly and in unison.
While some Tampa organizers are preparing for additional demonstrations this weekend by beefing up safety measures, many say that working around efforts to suppress demonstrations is nothing new in Florida.
'We're not necessarily creating a ton of good tactics, we're just doubling down, tripling down, on the things that have served us,' Kim said.
Helen Amburgey is an organizer with Pinellas chapter of the National Organization for Women, a group that's helping to coordinate a local 'No Kings' anti-Trump protest in St. Petersburg. She said the response to the Los Angeles protests has made her organization think more about safety plans and the guidance they give to protesters.
She said the group is posting more reminders on social media that tell attendees to stay on sidewalks. The organization also expanded their safety marshal and volunteer teams for this weekend's protests, she said.
Some organizers said they are also placing more of an emphasis on protecting immigrants without legal status.
'Even the citizens are getting to the point where they're so worried that they're going to get picked up, or the police are going to target them, or whatever, just because they happen to be immigrants,' Jared Dahan, an organizer for the Pinellas Empowerment Community Hub, said.
Dahan said because many of the safety marshals are white or white-passing, they've come to an unspoken agreement that part of their role is to help de-escalate by physically moving themselves between a law enforcement officer and an immigrant if needed.
Karla Correa, an organizer at Pinellas Democratic Socialists of America, said her organization hasn't added any specific safety protocols for this weekend's protests, but is aware that law enforcement or counter-protesters may try harder to suppress the demonstrations.
Florida is already a state that cracks down on protests, Correa said. Kim said that the state will take any excuse to deem a protest a riot, so protesters and organizers need to be extra cognizant.
'Florida likes to lead the way on any demonstration of strict law and order,' Kim said.
In 2021, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill tightening restrictions on protests, which was challenged by civil rights groups who worried that peaceful protesters could be charged if demonstrations became violent. Last year, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that peaceful protesters are not at risk of being considered rioters, and the bill later was sent to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, which sided with DeSantis against concerns that the law was too vague.
This past week, DeSantis compared Florida and California's response to protests against federal raids and policies regarding illegal immigration. He wrote on X that Florida will remain a law and order state.
'Florida will not let the inmates run the asylum,' DeSantis wrote. 'We are not going to sit by and let people take potshots at the men and women of law enforcement.
Sheridan Murphy, executive director for the Florida chapter of the American Indian Movement, said violence from the government is nothing new, but openness about it is. He said he can understand why people of any immigration status may be wary of coming out to protest.
'I think it's incumbent on the rest of us to get out there,' he said. 'And be louder and stand up for those people that are at risk and have something to lose if they come out there.'
