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The Toughest Anti-Riot Bill in the Nation
Gov. Ron DeSantis continues to demonstrate his courage in passing legislation that protects Florida’s citizens, punishes rioters who indulge in destruction and mayhem, and stands up for the rule of law. DeSantis said:
‘If you look at the breadth of this particular piece of legislation, it is the strongest anti-rioting, pro-law enforcement piece of legislation in the country,’ DeSantis said at a press conference. ‘There’s just nothing even close.’
DeSantis explained the legislation further at a press conference in Polk County, FL. (The first five minutes of the video give the foundation of the legislation.) Here is a brief description as well:
The law, which goes into effect immediately, grants civil legal immunity to people who drive through protesters blocking a road and allows authorities to hold arrested demonstrators from posting bail until after their first court date. The legislation increases the charge for battery on a police officer during a riot and adds language that could force local governments to justify a reduction in law enforcement budgets.
The bill allows people to sue local governments over personal or property damages if they were determined to have interfered with law enforcement response during civil unrest. It also increases penalties for protesters who block roadways or deface public monuments and creates a new crime, ‘mob intimidation.’
For all those blue-state Democrats who care more about rioters than they do law-abiding citizens, I hope they have the decency to feel embarrassed. Gov. DeSantis, for months, has stood up to criticisms and lies regarding his wisdom and the practical actions he’s taken regarding Covid-19, because he refuses to treat his citizens like children and he values their freedom as well. He studied the rioting and destruction that inflamed other cities and has been adamant about preventing those activities in Florida.
Of course, the ACLU is critical of the legislation:
‘The problem with this bill is that the language is so overbroad and vague … that it captures anybody who is peacefully protesting at a protest that turns violent through no fault of their own,’ said Kara Gross, the legislative director at ACLU Florida, according to the Orlando Sentinel. ‘Those individuals who do not engage in any violent conduct under this bill can be arrested and charged with a third-degree felony and face up to five years in prison and loss of voting rights. The whole point of this is to instill fear in Floridians.’
My response to Ms. Gross is that following these laws is quite simple. If you are involved in a peaceful protest that turns violent, common sense tells the ordinary person to go home. If they weren’t involved in the initial violence and they immediately leave the area, they have nothing to worry about. And as far as instilling fear in Floridians: anyone who thinks that protests are open season for destructive and malevolent actions, they’d better find a new home.
To those governors around the country who are happy to cater to the Leftist ideology, or who cower in standing up for law enforcement, take note. Gov. DeSantis believes in his citizens, honors the country’s Constitution, and will protect it.
I’m so proud to have a governor with a moral compass, a conscience and has acted upon them.
Published in Domestic Policy
I have to laugh grimly at this quote. Isn’t that exactly what has happened to so many Trump supporters who entered the Capitol Building when the police moved back inside? Didn’t one woman pay for her life for something she may not even have been doing?
Can we trade Governors? It’s really disheartening Minnesotans get 8 months of winter and a terrible government…
I would rail against the universe for that terrible outcome! No, we can’t trade. But you’re welcome to visit–as long as you don’t plan any protests!
I applaud this but have my doubts (without reading it) that it would all survive a First Amendment challenge. The devil’s in the details.
Does the law let you arrest Uber Eats drivers who double park or otherwise block you?
Boy, I really want to move to Florida. I’ve starting cleaning out cupboards and listing unused or excess stuff on Nextdoor for sale. Now if I can only get MR AZ to do the same we would have less to move. He actually would like to move also but thinks we are just physically unable to do so.
I think context does matter, @ctlaw. Besides, food’s important!
I can’t help you there. Whether we would be physically able is irrelevant. After this move, I told my husband that I was never, ever, ever going to move again. Did I say never? Yep.
That will be interesting to follow, @hoyacon. My hope is a challenge will take a while, although I’m not counting on it.
Cheer up. De Santis will be everyone’s Governor soon. (i.e. President of the United States)
I got out of Arizona back in August. And I found a buyer who also paid to do the moving for me. They might be willing to do the same for you, and after MY move anyone else would have to be easy. :-)
DeSantis seems to be doing a great job, and some credit is due to the Florida legislature, I imagine.
He seems to be emerging as the 2024 frontrunner.
One can only hope
If it is done knowingly and three people are in the car, then yes.
Added: This was sarcasm.
Not only do I want to move to Florida, I want De Santis for president. I hope he runs and Trump doesn’t. He would be Trump without the negative personality traits.
Of course that wouldn’t stop the media from pretending he’s WORSE than Trump.
They can pretend all they want, it won’t work. Trump reinforced his negatives. De Santis will reinforce his positives.
And the media will take that, and make it look negative. It may not be as easy as with Trump, but they will certainly do it anyway.
Unless DeSantis can effectively bypass the media, I don’t know that he has a chance. He can try doing all that stuff but if he’s deplatformed from every place that can do it, well….
Of course. What’s your point? The media will always be against us. Are you saying something original? That’s par for the course. It’s up to the Republican candidate to (1) not reinforce their narrative and (2) go over the media.
Which is far more difficult now than it was for Reagan, for example.
And so? Giving up already? We need to acknowledge the difficulties but not use them as an excuse to cave in
Not to cave in, but it may explain what might happen in the future. i.e., just running DeSantis is not enough. It’s still necessary to clean up the media etc, as much as possible. Also clean up voting… It simply Does Not Matter how great DeSantis is, assuming he runs, if the votes are distorted.
Worse than Hitler, eh? That only leaves a very few alternates.
They might just say “literally Hitler” again, and hope people don’t remember – and many of them probably won’t – that Trump was previously “literally Hitler” a few years earlier.
Not necessarily. Reagan didn’t have the conservative media outlets we have today and the media platforms we have today to distribute our message. You’re on one right now.
Maybe “literally channeling Hitler” would work.
I don’t know it sounds like a mix bag. My gut feeling is giving more power to the goverment and setting the bar lower for resisting arrest therefore giving cops even more power is not the solution.
“The bill allows people to sue local governments over personal or property damages if they were determined to have interfered with law enforcement response during civil unrest. It also increases penalties for protesters who block roadways or deface public monuments and creates a new crime, ‘mob intimidation.”
This sound like the really good part of the law. I think legally requiring police to protect people and property against violence is a good thing. If we are going to have a police force to protect us and give them the power of violence . We should get something in return like requiring some minimal legal obilagions for them to due the job we pay them to due and require the to uphold the law.
Since constitutionally they have no legal requirement to due anything.
Also I am sorry some Cities have way to big of a police force. It sounds like a one size fit all solution.
Stopping cities from reducing police force in low crime areas does not sound like a good idea at all.
When they are pulling people over for no reason on a regular bases that means they have nothing better to due and sounds like you need fewer cops. Police should not be inoculated from being hit by limited resources. To claim across the board police are only underfunded not over-funded is just naive. Trust me you don’t want to live in a state were we have to many police. That the road to Tyranny.
Brian, I just wanted to address this one comment. The fear is that an effort will be made to “defund the police” because of ridiculous political requirements. I believe that they can reduce a police force, but they have to show legitimate reasons, not meet some Leftists agenda that leaves their citizens vulnerable.
Reagan could appear on ABC if CBS and NBC didn’t want to carry it, because they were competitors. Such options don’t exist now, ABC/CBS/NBC/etc would all refuse to report accurately on Trump, and “conservative platforms” don’t reach very many people especially now that Rush is gone.
And today Reagan could go on FoxNews and Newsmax. What do you mean options don’t exist? You seem to intentionally look for the defeatist argument.