Latest news with #NoKings"Day
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
First Amendment: What are the free speech rights for 'No Kings' protesters in Florida?
Protesters hitting the streets this weekend in Florida do have free speech rights to back them up, yet Florida laws may pose a head-on challenge during "No Kings Day" protests. First Amendment advocacy groups and attorneys warn protesters nationwide that, at the anti-ICE raids protests, they're protected with free speech and the right to assembly, but escalations past that aren't covered. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis made that clear in the week leading to the "No Kings" demonstrations. He said state law enforcement is ready, and that people who resort to violence or rioting won't be tolerated. Here's what to know about free speech rights at Florida protests: Protesters are protected by First Amendment free speech and assembly rights, but the law may not be on their side if tensions escalate. In 2021, Florida passed an "anti-riot" law that defined what a "riot" is and required that someone arrested for unlawful assembly be held without bail until their first court appearance. Statewide warnings leading into the protests have hammered home the consequences of violence and unrest. "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," Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey said. In a podcast interview, DeSantis even said that if protesters surround a car, that drivers would not be at fault if they hit people blocking roadways. "You have a right to flee for your safety," DeSantis said. "So if you drive off and you hit one of these people, that's their fault for impinging on you." Pensacola attorney Eric Stevenson said that holding signs, chanting or speaking publicly are all permissible and protected by the First Amendment. Stevenson clarified that protesters should still be safe and "aware of the surroundings," because violence and unrest may come forth if, to put it plainly, somebody gets in another person's face. "They need to make sure that the protest stays peaceful, even if people are antagonizing them," Stevenson said. Yet location truly matters in free speech rights, too. Stevenson said protesters are limited to where they can protest, since they need to stay away from private property and off of roadways. Public property is OK for protests under the First Amendment. Generally, public property includes spaces owned and maintained by the government, such as sidewalks, parks, streets, and public squares, though time, place and manner restrictions may apply. They may include ones on noise and crowd size. "No Kings" Day falls on June 14, when organizers have planned a series of more than 2,000 protests across the county in a "nationwide day of defiance" against the Trump administration. June 14 is Flag Day and also Trump's 79th birthday, and it's also when a military parade in Washington celebrating the U.S. Army's 250th birthday will take place. More than 75 protests are planned across Florida. These come after protests escalated in the greater Los Angeles area, stemming from multiple U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement warrants executed in the city. Videos spread widely on social media of people throwing things at law enforcement and others, setting off fireworks and blocking buses. This reporting content is supported by a partnership with Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. USA Today Network-Florida First Amendment reporter Stephany Matat is based in Tallahassee, Fla. She can be reached at SMatat@ On X: @stephanymatat. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: What to know about free speech rights at Florida 'No Kings' protests
USA Today
a day ago
- Politics
- USA Today
Court sides with Trump over control of National Guard in California: Live updates
Court sides with Trump over control of National Guard in California: Live updates Show Caption Hide Caption See how Los Angeles protests intensified over one weekend What started as a small protest over immigration raids on Friday ballooned into large demonstrations throughout the weekend. Here's what happened. As cities across the country braced for hundreds of protests planned for the weekend, California leaders and President Donald Trump remain in an intense showdown on Friday after an appeals court allowed the president to maintain his deployment of National Guard troops in Los Angeles. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday temporarily blocked a federal judge's order that required Trump to return control of California's National Guard to the state. The court's decision followed U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer's ruling that the president's deployment of the Guard was unlawful. Breyer's ruling was a short victory for California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who filed a lawsuit over the president's move to deploy members of the Guard without Newsom's authorization. The judge's order was to take effect at noon on Friday. Meanwhile, the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and other national Latino organizations condemned the forceful removal of Democratic U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's news conference in Los Angeles on Thursday. LULAC, which is the oldest and largest Latino civil rights organization in the United States, has demanded an immediate investigation into the incident. Videos showed Padilla being forced to the ground and handcuffed after trying to ask a question during the news conference, where Noem was discussing the protests over federal immigration raids. In a video statement released Thursday night, Padilla said he had been escorted to the news conference by a National Guardsman and an FBI agent after waiting for another scheduled briefing. "Now, I'm OK for people who are wondering how I'm doing," Padilla, who is from California, added. "But the big lesson here is if they can do that to me ... what are they doing to a lot of the folks that are out there when the cameras are not on?" Following days of protests in Los Angeles, which were mostly confined to parts of the city's downtown area, a partial curfew remained in effect for the third consecutive night. The curfew, lasting from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. PT for pockets of downtown Los Angeles, was implemented on Tuesday. 'My hope is after continuing it a few more days, that people will get the message that we are serious,' Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said at a Thursday news conference. Shortly before the curfew went into effect on Thursday night, the Los Angeles Police Department's Central Division reported people in a crowd throwing bricks, concrete, and commercial-grade fireworks. "Less lethal munitions have been authorized," LAPD said in a post on X at about 7:55 p.m. local time. "No Kings" Day organizers say it is more important than ever to have a "national day of peaceful protest" on June 14, following the decision by Trump to send 700 Marines and 4,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles. "I think we will see the largest peaceful single day protests that this country has seen certainly since the first Trump term," said Indivisible cofounder Ezra Levin, one of the organizers. Now, about 2,000 protests and rallies named "No Kings" Day are planned to oppose what they see as Trump's power grab, nearly double that of the April 5 "Hands Off" protest that saw millions of Americans turn out in big and small cities nationwide. Organizers expect millions of Americans to turn out across the country on June 14. Contributing: Reuters
USA Today
a day ago
- Politics
- USA Today
Planned ‘No Kings' protests grow in number after LA militarization: What organizers expect
Planned 'No Kings' protests grow in number after LA militarization: What organizers expect 'The numbers have skyrocketed': Protest organizers expect massive crowds nationwide on June 14 in response to immigration raid, military presence Show Caption Hide Caption US Attorney charges two people with throwing Molotov cocktails "Let's be clear, this is the beginning, not the end." U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli vowed to prosecute protesters who commit crimes. Up to 2,000 protests and rallies are expected across the nation on June 14. In Los Angeles, organizers expect up to 250,000 people to attend, far more than the 70,000 first anticipated. Organizers say the events will be peaceful and are holding several extra safety and de-escalation trainings for local activists and volunteers. "No Kings" Day organizers say it is more important than ever to have a "national day of peaceful protest" on June 14 following the decision by President Donald Trump to send in Marines and the National Guard to Los Angeles. "I think we will see the largest peaceful single day protests that this country has seen certainly since the first Trump term," said Indivisible cofounder Ezra Levin, one of the organizers. Now, about 2,000 protests and rallies named "No Kings" Day are planned to oppose what they see as Trump's power grab, nearly double that of the April 5 "Hands Off" protest that saw millions of Americans turn out in big and small cities nationwide. Organizers expect millions of Americans to turn out across the country on June 14. The protests occur the same day as a parade to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army in Washington, D.C., which also falls on Trump's 79th birthday. The "No Kings" Day protests were planned long before Trump called in the California National Guard to quell largely peaceful protests over immigration enforcement raids in Los Angeles. On June 9, he ordered 700 Marines to the city to help. Related: 'No Kings Day' protests planned for June 14 with aim to reclaim the American flag Still, there have been pockets of high-profile clashes with police in Los Angeles, leading California Gov. Gavin Newsom to bring in extra state resources and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass to impose a curfew. Hundreds of people have been arrested, mostly for violating the curfew. Protests have since spread across the country, and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, has deployed the Texas National Guard to immigration enforcement protests there. "Mobilizing military forces into American cities is going to be seen as an overreach, and it's going to be now met with a wave of peaceful, boisterous moms and dads and grandmas and kids and their dogs and families showing up, saying, 'we're not going to put up with this authoritarianism,'" Levin said. On June 11, the White House said Trump is fine with peaceful protests during the military parade, walking back comments Trump made the day before that any protesters would be met with "very big force." That same day, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth suggested that more national guard units could be deployed. Levin said the presence of the National Guard has changed nothing on their end. There is no planned "No Kings" Day protest in Washington, D.C. "Our current plan is full steam ahead," he said. "It's more important than ever that we have a national day of peaceful protest in response to would be monarchical rule. And the worst thing we could do this in this moment is back down in response to saber rattling from Trump and others." 'What do I do?' Organizers anticipate that the immigration enforcement and Trump's response to largely peaceful protests by bringing in the military is a pivot point that will bring new people to the streets June 14. "It's part of the national conversation now," Levin said. "And when this kind of thing becomes part of the national conversation, a lot of people who weren't paying attention before lift their head up and say, 'oh my gosh, that's terrible. What do I do?' And there's a very clear answer, it's show up on Saturday in a peaceful protest in a town near you." Progressive groups often talk about building on pivot points that draw people into protests or activism for the first time. For example, fear and anger over tariffs that were announced April 2 led to larger than expected crowds at the April 5 Hands Off protests. Mass layoffs of federal probationary workers in February led to large numbers of people at townhalls held by Republican members of Congress. National Guard could change dynamics The presence of the National Guard in Los Angeles, Texas and possibly other states is an effort to "sow chaos" and scare people out of showing up to peacefully protest, Levin said. "It's really important for those of us who are organizing to make these events as welcoming as possible and create a sense of strength in numbers. The more people who show up, the harder it is for them to scare us away," Levin said. The national organizers are holding several extra safety and de-escalation trainings for local activists and volunteers this week. "We have no reason to believe these will be anything but peaceful," he said, pointing out that there were no reported incidents of violence or property destruction during the 1,300 protests in April. "These should be family friendly events. I expect to see people's dogs and their families and their kids out with funny signs and dancing and having a good time." In Los Angeles, organizers expect big crowds On June 14, hundreds of thousands of people are expected to take to the streets of Los Angeles for the "No Kings" protest. Organizers estimate 250,000 people will come, far above the estimated 70,000 who came to the last major protest in early April. "It is definitely a city that knows how to protest. I would say for a lot of people, it's a sense of duty. We have a duty to our community… to our neighbors, and to democracy and freedom at its most basic level. If we don't all stand up together now, we're going to be crushed separately," said Hunter Dunn, spokesperson for the group organizing the protest. More: Photos show ICE detention protests across the US amid LA tensions Dunn, whose group is called 50501 for 50 states, 50 capitols, one day, said they didn't seek a permit for the protest, which begins with a rally outside Los Angeles city hall and culminates in a mile long march, in part because they didn't want to inform LAPD or potentially ICE and the National Guard of their plans. He said his group's leadership has been tear gassed and hit with rubber bullets in recent days while providing food, water and medical services at the protest site in central Los Angeles. 50501 has a large team of volunteers on hand to de-escalate and be on the front line if law enforcement tries to break up the protest, he said. "We have a medical team and we have a security team who's specifically there to de-escalate and prevent bad actors from making things worse, and those are the people who are putting their bodies on the line if the government starts using tear gas or rubber bullets like they've been using against unorganized protests this week," Dunn said. Dunn encouraged people in the country illegally to stay home. "If someone is in danger of being targeted by the government directly, I would rather them stay home and instead ask five neighbors to go out and protest in their stead," he said. Still, he said there are a lot of people "who are for the first time realizing how serious the situation is and how important is to stand up for everyone's rights now so we don't lose them."
The Star
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Star
Planned "No Kings" protests grow in number after LA militarization: report
NEW YORK, June 12 (Xinhua) -- About 2,000 protests and rallies featuring "No Kings" Day are planned with millions of Americans to turn out across the country on Saturday, nearly double that of the April 5 "Hands Off" protests that saw millions taking the streets in big and small cities nationwide, reported USA Today on Thursday. Organizers say it is more important than ever to have a "national day of peaceful protest" following the decision by President Donald Trump to send in Marines and the National Guard to Los Angeles. "I think we will see the largest peaceful single day protests that this country has seen certainly since the first Trump term," said Indivisible cofounder Ezra Levin, one of the organizers. The protests occur the same day as a parade to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army in Washington, D.C., which also falls on Trump's 79th birthday. "The 'No Kings' Day protests were planned long before Trump called in the California National Guard to quell largely peaceful protests over immigration enforcement raids in Los Angeles," noted the report. Still, there have been pockets of high-profile clashes with police in Los Angeles, leading California Governor Gavin Newsom to bring in extra state resources and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass to impose a curfew. Hundreds of people have been arrested, mostly for violating the curfew. Protests have since spread across the country, and Texas Governor Greg Abbott has deployed the Texas National Guard to immigration enforcement protests there. "Mobilizing military forces into American cities is going to be seen as an overreach, and it's going to be now met with a wave of peaceful, boisterous moms and dads and grandmas and kids and their dogs and families showing up, saying, 'we're not going to put up with this authoritarianism,'" Levin was quoted as saying. On June 11, the White House said Trump is fine with peaceful protests during the military parade, walking back comments Trump made the day before that any protesters would be met with "very big force." That same day, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth suggested that more national guard units could be deployed.
