FL's New ‘Anti-Riot’ Bill Is An ‘Attack On Democracy’: Activists

SARASOTA COUNTY, FL — Though Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis has framed HB1, a controversial “anti-riot” bill he signed into state law Monday in Polk County, as a means to control violent demonstrations, Sarasota and Manatee County area social and racial justice activists and organizations describe it as an “anti-American” tool to quell protests.

In a statement, BLM Manasota, the Black Lives Matter chapter in Sarasota and Manatee counties, said, “What DeSantis is calling the anti-riot bill…is one of the most anti-American bills seen put against protesters. It reeks of Jim Crow. It sets an extremely dangerous precedent. It stomps on our Constitution, and spits specifically in the face of Black leaders who have been organizing and peacefully protesting since last summer.”

The new bill took effect immediately after the governor signed it into law. A key piece of the measure redefines rioting as “a violent public disturbance involving an assembly of three or more (people) acting with a common intent to assist each other in violent and disorderly conduct, resulting in injury to another person, damage to property or imminent danger of injury to another person or damage to property.”

Activists say the law makes it easier for police to crack down on protesters and quash their First Amendment rights.

“HB1 is designed to chill and criminalize Floridians for exercising their First Amendment right to protest. By redefining ‘rioting,’ the bill grants police officers broad discretion in deciding who could be arrested and charged with a third-degree felony at a protest and fails to provide protection for people who have not engaged in any disorderly and violent conduct. In Florida, a felony charge strips people of their voting rights,” the ACLU of Florida said in a news release.

BLM Manasota added, “The wording in this bill is dangerous. It is meant to be used as a scare tactic against our allies and comrades. DeSantis is showing, once again, instead of listening to people of color and other activists alike, he would instead prefer to silence them.”

DeSantis said that the bill is a response to last summer’s protests following the death of George Floyd, a Black man, while in the custody of Minneapolis police.

"We really saw unprecedented rioting throughout the summer of 2020," the governor told reporters Monday. "And we said that's not going to happen here in the state of Florida, and we wanted to make sure that we were able to protect the people, people's businesses and property against any type of violent assemblies."

Eleuterio Salazar Jr., an activist and former Bradenton City Council candidate who now serves on the board of the ACLU’s Sarasota chapter, as well as at the state level, is also concerned about the language of HB1.

By redefining the word “riot,” this leaves the interpretation up to “those that may be in opposition of any protest,” he said. “This bill allows people who disagree with a protest to hit and potentially kill a protester and still be able to walk away like nothing ever happened. How is this justice? How is this right?”

Salazar added, “It will (also) prevent people who are ‘accused of rioting’ from bailing out of jail until after their first appearance. So, everyone else has an opportunity to potentially bond out but not protesters?! This is an attack on democracy and the rights of everyday Americans by this governor and his administration. This will only incite more fear and violence, but activists will not stop protesting, even if that means putting their own lives at risk and that blood will only lie on the hands of Governor DeSantis.”

State Rep. Chris Sprowls (R-Palm Harbor) stressed that HB1 won’t affect peaceful protesters, though, reports said.

"Of all the violence and destruction out there, I think it's worth noting there are heroic stories of truly peaceful protests who locked arms to protect someone's small business or locked arms to protect people who were in uniform. And our message to the people is, you're still protected. There's nothing in the 61-page bill that makes it a crime to be a peaceful protester,” he said.

Sarasota resident Bryan Ellis, an organizer with the Party for Socialism and Liberation’s Suncoast branch, which includes the entire Tampa Bay area, said his organization won’t be deterred by HB1.

“We're going to keep protesting and organizing, now even more seriously and at a quicker pace. This law shows how dire the circumstances are. As the system goes deeper into crisis and the state becomes more repressive, the strength of the movements can grow, too,” he said. “The extreme failures of the social and political system, the outright murderousness of them, shocks people into activism. More and more people are starting to fight for socialism. Anti-democratic laws like DeSantis' (HB1) endanger lives and freedom, but they also catalyze the fight for a better world.”

Alaina Martinez, founder of the Leaders Rights Organization, which promotes social, political, economic and environmental change through initiatives in Sarasota and Manatee counties, said the “new law to imprison and kill BLM protesters in Florida is a written reminder that the goal is to exhaust the people and to not give the merit needed to the issues that have been made abundantly clear through media outlets."

She added, "The voice of the people again (has) been deafened by political agendas against marginalized communities to cripple the most vulnerable. Black America is at war (and it’s) now public and available to be viewed. We will not be deterred, we will not accept dehumanizing laws, and we will not be mishandled. We will stand up and fight back. The people united will not be divided!”

In addition to placing tougher penalties on protesters involved in violence at rallies, HB1 also penalizes county and city governments in Florida that reduce the operating budgets of law enforcement agencies and protects monuments throughout the state.