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Miami – “All of a sudden you find people blocking a highway. They start doing that, there should be quick penalties.”
Those were the words of Governor Ron DeSantis last April when he signed a controversial anti-riot bill.
Tuesday?
“I think people understand the difference between going out and peacefully gathering, which is a clear constitutional right of the people,” DeSantis said on a day when South Florida residents stood in solidarity with the protests of Cuban citizens by heading to the Palmetto Highway and closing it for hours.
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What is happening here is the collision of politics with practice.
The riot act was one of several that DeSantis upheld to appeal to his conservative base in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests — a law that has now been violated by supporters of the governor himself, and on state-controlled roads.
They break the law, but you have to be patient. “You can’t go out here and arrest everyone,” said Joe Sanchez of the Florida Highway Patrol.
On Tuesday, FHP allowed the highway to be closed.
And our Miami-Dade cameras saw an officer waving people across the police line to the highway ramp.
In June 2020, the FHP denied Black Lives Matter protesters access to I-95. When they did – for minutes, not hours – no one was arrested here either.
“Although the law is enforced in Miami-Dade County, it needs to be consistently applied across the board,” said Stephen Johnson of the Miami-Dade-Black Affairs Advisory Board.
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The 61-page law covers a variety of measures against mob violence and destruction, some of which are explainable. However, the ingredient that makes road dams illegal is clearly cut and dry.
This is a section of the Florida Public Disorder Act (also known as the Riot Act) that makes road closures illegal. Some of the 61-page wide laws can be open to interpretation, but this is very clear
(Note as with all laws, police may use discretion) @WPLGLocal10 pic.twitter.com/1eVcSn2cWK
– Glenna Melberg (@GlennaWPLG) July 14, 2021
“A precedent has been set, and we have to live with that precedent,” Johnson said.
In Tampa, two people at a similar gathering on Tuesday were arrested by law for allegedly beating law enforcement officers.
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