Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, has crafted and circulated to legislators a new “anti-mob” piece of legislation. This legislation is an expansion of Florida’s “stand your ground” law. The law would:
- allow armed citizens to shoot suspected looters or anyone engaged in “criminal mischief” that disrupts a business;
- allow vigilantes to justify violent actions against protesters;
- opens for door for death as a punishment for property crimes;
- allows people to use force against people who engage in criminal mischief that results in the “interruption or impairment” of a business;
- enhances criminal penalties for those involved in “violent or disorderly assemblies;”
- makes it a third-degree felony to block traffic during a protest;
- allows the withholding of state funds from local governments that cut law enforcement budgets.
Ceballos, Miami Herald, 11/10/20).
Law, Power and Justice 