A federal judge on Thursday blocked part of a sweeping anti-protest bill enacted by Florida Republicans and Governor Ron DeSantis, writing that officials’ reaction to peaceful protests in the summer of 2020 is akin to the unlawful racist backlash seen during 1960s protests against Jim Crow laws.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during the welcome segment of the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida, U.S. February 26, 2021. REUTERS/Joe Skipperpart of a sweeping anti-protest bill enacted by Florida Republicans and Governor Ron DeSantis, writing that officials’ reaction to peaceful protests in the summer of 2020 is akin to the unlawful racist backlash seen during 1960s protests against Jim Crow laws.
DeSantis’ lawyers in defending the law had submitted to the court a Facebook post as evidence that Black Floridians continue to freely exercise their protest rights – except the flyer actually announced a “Black Joy" event celebrating America’s first officialProtesters' fears about the law are "well-founded" if the governor included the post "to imply that any gathering of Black people in a public space is a de facto protest," Walker said.
Nick Robinson, senior legal advisor at the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law, told me 106 bills “that undermine the right to peacefully protest" have been introduced in 37 states since George Floyd’s murder, which was followed by widespread protesting. He said the laws are generally targeted at protesters against racial injustice.
At that time – and as alleged in this case – Black rights groups and their allies were still brutalized and arrested during mostly peaceful demonstrations, while white supremacist counter-protesters were generally given a pass for illegal, violent behavior.
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