Latest news with #CombatingPublicDisorderAct
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘We will kill you': Democrats, Republicans at odds over protest warning language
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — More than a dozen protests are planned in Tampa Bay over the weekend following a series of protests in Southern California. It's just a small fraction of the larger 'No Kings Day' demonstrations expressing their concerns about Trump Administration policies, specifically the way the president handles immigration enforcement. Florida has also become a state that is known for helping the Trump Administration manage ICE raids and deportations. Republican leaders, political and law enforcement, have issued stern warnings to protestors. Some of those warnings involved giving examples that could end in arrest or other deadly consequences. Apopka daughter asks for fair chance after parents detained, father deported Democrats are also giving advice to protestors, like Florida House Minority Leader Rep. Fentrice Driskell, of Hillsborough County. 'Keep your protests peaceful, do not be afraid to exercise your constitutional right, but just mind yourself, be aware of your surroundings,' Driskell said. Following protests in California and ahead of demonstrations across the state, some Republican officials took a more forceful approach after they said ICE agents and other law enforcement were threatened during protests in California. Gov. Ron DeSantis appeared on The Rubin Report conservative podcast this week. '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 the right to flee for your safety. If you drive off and you hit one of these people, that's their fault for impinging on you,' DeSantis said. Brevard Sheriff Wayne Ivey issued a warning on Thursday about Florida being an 'anti-riot state' after lawmakers passed the Combating Public Disorder Act in 2021. 'If you throw a brick, a firebomb, or point a gun at one of our deputies, we will be notifying your families where to collect your remains at because we will kill you graveyard dead,' Ivey said. Driskell responded by saying this type of language is not about safety. 'All of the tough rhetoric is designed to scare people and keep them at home. It's meant to prevent people from exercising their constitutional rights and to distract from Republicans owned failed policies on immigration,' Driskell Attorney General James Uthmeier spoke at the same news conference as Ivey. The state's top law enforcement official said voters elected republicans to enforce laws and curb the number of migrants who are undocumented. 'The voters last November made loud and clear that we want to ensure law and order, we want to enforce against illegal immigration,' Uthmeier said. So far, social justice groups like the ACLU are not aware anyone has been charged under Florida's anti-riot law, which increased penalties for violent protestors and expanded the definition of a riot. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Metro
a day ago
- Politics
- Metro
Florida sheriff warns rioters 'we will kill you' as protests spread across US
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video A Florida sheriff has issued a stark warning to anyone planning to protest against immigration raids in his state. Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey was speaking at a press conference ahead of roughly 1,800 protests planned across the US today (June 14). Some of those are in opposition to the Washington military parade that marks the 250th anniversary of the US Army and coincides with president Donald Trump's 79th birthday, with others protesting immigration raids. Protests in Los Angeles, California are continuing for an eighth day, and they have spread across the country with riot police sent to at least five more cities. California governor Gavin Newsom filed an emergency motion to try and stop Trump sending in the National Guard and Marines, saying their presence would encourage civil unrest and increase tensions. Meanwhile, Trump likened the protests to a 'foreign invasion'. But Sheriff Ivey has made his stance on rioting and protests in his state and elsewhere very clear. 'You're watching what's taking place out there. You're seeing police officers that are being attacked, being spit on, being being put in harm's way just for doing their jobs,' he said at the press conference on Thursday. 'You're seeing ICE agents that are being targeted for doing their jobs and you're seeing obstructionists that are doing all of this, standing in the way of law and order. 'Not here, not in the state of Florida. 'If (you) throw a brick, a firebomb, or point a gun at one of our deputies, we will be notifying your family where to collect your remains at because we will kill you, graveyard dead. 'We're not going to play. This has got to stop.' Florida's attorney general James Uthmeier added 'we do not allow rioting in the state of Florida' to applause from the audience. It's been about five years since an anti-riot act, the Combating Public Disorder Act, was passed in the state. The act came into force following thousands of Black Lives Matter protests which swept the US after the death of George Floyd in 2020. It increased penalties for anyone taking part in a violent public disturbance and gave law enforcement more leeway in dealing with violent protesters. The bill also allows people to sue local governments for damages caused during a riot or unlawful assembly, creates new crimes that include mob intimidation and inciting a riot, and means anyone who tears down a memorial to a historical figure could face up to 15 years in prison. More Trending Sheriff Ivey continued: 'If you resist lawful orders, you're going to jail. Let me be very clear about that. 'If you block an intersection or roadway in Brevard County, you are going to jail. If you flee arrest, you're going to go to jail tired because we are going to run you down and put you in jail. 'If you try to mob rule a car in Brevard County, gathering around it, refusing to let the driver leave, in our county you're most likely going to get run over and dragged across the street. 'If you spit on us, you're going to the hospital and in jail. If you hit one of us, you're going to the hospital and jail and most likely get bitten by one of our big, beautiful dogs that we have here.' Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Urgent recall for vitamin gummies over 'life-threatening health risk' MORE: Man 'urinates on $10,000 worth of Spam and sausages forcing them to be tossed' MORE: Lawmaker forcefully removed from Trump secretary's LA protests conference and handcuffed
