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Miami Herald
2 days ago
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Ron DeSantis Says Drivers Have Right to Hit Protesters-Is He Right?
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has been accused of "overstating the protections that drivers have" if they hit individuals who surround their vehicles during a demonstration. Tray Gober, the managing director of the law firm Lee, Gober & Reyna, told Newsweek that the governor appeared to "conflate civil protections with criminal immunity" and risked "sending a dangerous message." Since June 6, Los Angeles has been rocked by a series of protests against Immigration and Custom Enforcement raids. Some of the demonstrations have turned violent, with individuals burning vehicles and throwing rocks at the police. In response, President Donald Trump ordered the deployment of 4,000 National Guard soldiers and 700 Marines against the wishes of California Governor Gavin Newsom. Anti-ICE protests have since spread to other cities, and Texas Governor Greg Abbott has also deployed National Guard troops in his state. On Saturday, the Trump administration is holding a military parade in Washington, D.C., to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. The "No Kings" movement has organized more than 1,500 demonstrations across the country to take place on the day, which is also Trump's 79th birthday. A large number of protests nationwide could mean increased interactions between drivers and people demonstrating on roads. During an appearance on The Rubin Report on Wednesday, DeSantis said drivers could legally hit demonstrators with their vehicles if fleeing for their safety. "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. "And so if you drive off and you hit one of these people, that's their fault for impinging on you." Gober, who has worked as a criminal defense attorney and covered civil cases involving vehicle collisions, said the governor's comments were based on a misunderstanding of the law. "Governor DeSantis' comments appear to conflate civil protections with criminal immunity, which are distinct in both intent and effect," Gober said. "Florida's HB 1 passed in 2021 provides an affirmative defense in civil lawsuits for injuries caused to someone 'acting in furtherance of a riot.' But that is not the same as granting drivers a carte blanche to hit protesters without consequence." In 2021, DeSantis signed House Bill 1, nicknamed the "anti-riot" bill, into law. The legislation grants drivers some civil protection if they hit protesters with their vehicles while feeling threatened but not criminal immunity. "In a civil context, the Florida statute (HB1) provides that if a person is injured while participating in a riot, and they then sue for damages, the defendant can raise the plaintiff's riot participation as an affirmative defense," Gober said, adding: "In a criminal context, HB 1 does not create blanket immunity for drivers who injure protesters. Florida criminal law still requires that use of force is justified only when it meets the legal standard for self-defense." "So while DeSantis's rhetoric suggests a driver can simply 'drive off' and harm someone without legal risk, that's not what the law actually says," he continued. Gober added, "DeSantis is overstating the protections drivers have. The law he's citing offers limited civil protection in very specific cases. It does not give blanket criminal immunity for injuring or killing protesters. It also risks sending a dangerous message that civil unrest justifies indiscriminate harm." Bryan Griffin, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' communications director, told Newsweek: "It's simple: don't protest in Florida by blocking traffic or threatening people in their cars, and you won't have a problem. Even you Newsweek activists and your Experts™ should be able to keep that straight." Lorella Praeli, a co-president of Community Change Action, which is backing Saturday's protest, previously told Newsweek: "Look around-Trump and his allies are deploying the tools of authoritarianism: silencing dissent, targeting immigrants, punishing oversight, and even staging military displays for personal glorification. These aren't isolated incidents; they're part of a broader effort to delegitimize democratic norms. "This isn't normal. It's manufactured chaos, designed to instill fear and consolidate power. When a sitting U.S. Senator is handcuffed for asking a question, it should be a five-alarm fire for anyone who believes in democracy. We have to name this moment for what it is-and organize with the clarity and courage it demands." Demonstrations are expected across the U.S. on Saturday. Organizers of the No Kings protests have said: "All No Kings events adhere to a shared commitment to nonviolent protest and community safety. Organizers are trained in de-escalation and are working closely with local partners to ensure peaceful and powerful actions nationwide." Related Articles Why Flags Are at Half-Mast Across Florida TodayRon DeSantis Says Floridians Have Right to Hit Protesters With CarsRon DeSantis' PAC Defends Musk as Billionaire's Feud With Trump ExplodesFlorida Bridge Displays Pride Colors in Defiance of Ron DeSantis 2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
New York Times
31-01-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Musk Lawyer Tries to Build a Powerhouse Firm With a Billionaire Client
Several top Republican lawyers are joining forces with the lawyer for the billionaire Elon Musk in hopes of building a new conservative legal powerhouse. Chris Gober, a swaggering Texas-based lawyer who has represented Mr. Musk in high-profile political fights for the last year, has hired four lawyers from Holtzman Vogel, a top law firm that recently drew the ire of some allies of President Trump. The move is yet another sign of the expanding influence of Mr. Musk in big-money Republican politics. Mr. Musk is the Republican Party's top donor and has become one of Mr. Trump's closest advisers. That rise has empowered those in Mr. Musk's orbit, as well. Mr. Gober has said that his enlarged firm, now called Lex Politica, drew inspiration from an unlikely source: Marc Elias, the Democratic Party's own superlawyer, who has consolidated power in the Democratic legal world and influenced his party in a way that no political lawyer on the right has. 'His law firm is synonymous with the progressive movement,' Mr. Gober said of Mr. Elias in an interview. 'And that's what we want to do: Build the law firm that is synonymous with the conservative movement.' A spokesman for Mr. Elias's law firm declined to comment. Mr. Gober says he expects Lex Politica to be the primary outside counsel for the House and Senate Republican campaign arms, as well as for House Speaker Mike Johnson, Republican of Louisiana, and, of course, Mr. Musk. It was not immediately clear how much of Holtzman Vogel's business Mr. Gober's firm would take. The two more prominent Holtzman Vogel lawyers joining Mr. Gober are Jessica Furst Johnson, who has served as the general counsel for the campaign committees in the past, and Steve Roberts, who represents Vivek Ramaswamy, the former Republican presidential candidate who initially helped Mr. Musk lead the so-called Department of Government Efficiency. Mr. Gober described the hires, which also included Christine Fort, an Arizona-based partner at Holtzman Vogel, and Nicole Kelly, a senior associate there, with a touch of the bravado often shown by Mr. Musk and Mr. Trump, calling their recruitment the 'biggest political coup in the political law world that anybody has seen to date.' Some Trump advisers publicly criticized Holtzman Vogel during the 2024 campaign cycle after a top Republican lawyer at the firm, Jason Torchinsky, researched on behalf of a client whether Mr. Trump could be disqualified from the ballot using the 14th Amendment. That larger effort ultimately failed, but some Republicans now perceive Holtzman Vogel, accurately or not, as an establishment firm in a party led by a president who likes to hold grudges. Jill Holtzman Vogel, the firm's founder, said she wished Mr. Gober's recruits 'well' but bristled at Mr. Gober's framing of their departure as a 'coup.' 'They are taking two nonequity partners out of a 50-lawyer firm with the largest political and MAGA practice in the country,' she said. Mr. Musk appears to exert a gravitational pull for ambitious Republicans, and many have shown an eagerness to get close to him since he started spending his billions. Mr. Gober last year helped Mr. Musk create his super PAC, America PAC, which spent over $250 million to help elect Mr. Trump. Most prominently, Mr. Gober represented Mr. Musk in a Pennsylvania court case that sought to end a petition drive in which Mr. Musk awarded up to $1 million to swing-state voters. Mr. Gober successfully defeated that effort just before Election Day. Mr. Gober said Mr. Musk had taken his firm 'more mainstream and put us more on the map,' adding that Mr. Musk was an unusual client who prompted him to 'change the way that I practice law.' 'The level of risk tolerance and what we have the latitude to do and try is an absolute game-changer," Mr. Gober said of working with Mr. Musk. Using the abbreviation for 'return on investment,' he added, 'He's willing to spend money on things that others might say, 'Well, that's just not historically been the best R.O.I. or the way we do things.'' Mr. Gober continued, 'It's a completely different experience working with a PAC that has — I don't want to say a limitless budget, but you don't take things off the table because of price.'
