Oct 16, 2024 Story by: Editor
The lawsuit that civil rights groups filed against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis over the 2021 law that increased penalties for protesters inciting violence has officially concluded.
On Wednesday, both parties agreed to drop the suit, which had challenged the 2021 “Anti-Riot Act.” Civil rights groups, including the Florida State Conference of the NAACP, argued that the law, enacted after the 2020 George Floyd protests against police brutality, infringed on the First Amendment rights of protesters.
Each side will be responsible for its legal expenses.
This resolution follows a decision by a panel of federal judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, which allowed Florida to temporarily enforce the law. The judges referenced a Florida Supreme Court opinion stating that the law did not apply to peaceful protesters who happened to be part of a crowd that became violent.
The ACLU of Florida, which litigated the case on behalf of the plaintiffs, welcomed the appellate court’s ruling on October 7.
“Today’s decision reaffirms important legal protections that will benefit anyone who wants to take a public stand to demand racial justice, as well as all Floridians who want to peacefully demonstrate for what they believe in without fear of reprisal,” said Daniel Tilley, the legal director of the ACLU of Florida, in a statement to Florida Phoenix.
Florida’s NAACP chapter, Dream Defenders, Black Collective Inc., Chainless Change Inc., and Black Lives Matter Alliance Broward were among the groups that filed the lawsuit. The law had been passed by the Florida Legislature in the spring of 2021, following protests sparked by George Floyd’s murder at the hands of Minneapolis police officers. Source: Florida Phoenix
