By Paul Waldmiller
Did you know that Governor Ron DeSantis is being sued by a politically left-leaning organization after signing the new anti-rioting bill into law?
The anti-riot bill that DeSantis signed last Monday was a response to nationwide protests, rioting and destruction of property seen in the wake of George Floyd’s murder.
The not-for-profit organization, Legacy Entertainment & Arts Foundation is suing DeSantis claiming that the new Florida law violates First Amendment protections for free speech, Eighth Amendment protections against cruel and unusual punishment and 14th Amendment protections of due process.
Legacy Entertainment & Arts Foundation as well as other socialist and anarchists’ groups claim that the new law is somehow racist, and the issue of riots hasn’t occurred here in Florida. They see this new law as also an attempt to silence the voices of groups like Black Lives Matter.
The new law grants stiffer penalties for crimes committed during a riot or violent protest. Nowhere found in the bill is there language limiting Constitutionally granted speech. The law also allows authorities to hold arrested protesters until a first court appearance and establishes new felonies for organizing or participating in a violent demonstration. It also strips local governments of civil liability protections if they interfere with law enforcement efforts to respond to a violent protest.
Cody McCloud, a spokesman for the governor stated that the governor’s office has not yet been served in the case but will firmly defend the legal merits of the new law.