Flori-duh: State leaders crafted anti-riot law that boomeranged to their own supporters

Remember way back to the spring of 2021, when a phalanx of Florida lawmakers and county sheriffs had gathered to herald the “Combating Public Disorder Act?"

It was quite a show, with obligatory performances by Gov. Ron DeSantis, his obedient underlings and a posse of Florida’s MAGA county sheriffs.

“In Florida, we are taking an unapologetic stand for the rule of law and public safety,” DeSantis said while signing a bill that anticipated “mob violence” from Black Lives Matter protesters.

Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods put it this way: “Anyone who opposes or fears this law is an individual who cares more about a criminal and criminal acts rather than law and order.”

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Heralded as “the strongest anti-rioting, pro-law enforcement piece of legislation in the country,” the law created new felonies for those “anti-police” forces who took to the streets. It also denied them bail before their first court appearance and allowed non-violent protesters to be charged if they happened to be at a protest where other people committed violence.

“We respect the right of people to peaceably assemble and make their views known on issues of public policy but rioting, violence and destruction of property cannot and will not be tolerated in Florida,” Florida Attorney Gen. Ashley Moody chimed in.

Well, all that tough talk hasn’t aged well. And I’m not just talking about a federal court putting the Florida law on hold due to its “vague and overbroad” constitutional shortcomings.

No, it’s more because this is a law that has boomeranged on its legislative architects and cheerleaders.

Oops, the public disorder is coming from us

The Combating Public Disorder Act would now seem to be better suited as a cudgel to prosecute the Floridians it was pandering to in the first place.

It turns out that the focus on Black Lives Matter was all wrong. The real focal point of the blatant disregard for law and calls for violence is coming from Mar-a-Lago.

As former President Donald Trump is running out of bad excuses to explain his failure to relinquish some of the nation’s top secrets he kept without authority at his Palm Beach country club, he and others have hinted at a violent end if the matter isn’t dropped.

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said on Fox News that if Trump is prosecuted “there will be riots in the streets.”

Trump reposted Graham’s words and added some of his own on his Truth Social platform.

“The law enforcement of our country has become that of a Third World nation, and I do not believe the people will stand for it …,” he wrote. “How much are we all expected to take?”

This is nothing new from Trump. The Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection was a kind of riot he organized against lawmakers trying to certify the results of a legally conducted election that didn’t go his way.

And as far back as 2016, when he was still a candidate for president, Trump dangled violence if Republicans found a way to deny him the nomination at the party’s national convention that year.

“I think you’d have riots,” Trump said then. “I’m representing a tremendous many, many millions of people.”

For Trump, threatening physical harm is just another option when others don’t work. And in the current case, Palm Beach, which has already been a gathering spot for pro-Trump protests, would be a natural focal point for his street fighters to converge.

Time for Florida leaders to pick a side

I mention this because it seems that this would be a real opportunity for Florida officials to give a full-throated warning to those Trump supporters who may be making plans to riot in the streets.

I know. I know. It will be difficult. All those Florida sheriffs will have to replace the images of young Black men dancing in their heads with Trump’s flag-waving, AR-15-packing, Y’all-Qaeda terrorists.

But it can be done. It’s time to act. After all, consider Luis Miguel, a Republican candidate for the state House in northeast Florida.

“Under my plan, all Floridians will have permission to shoot FBI, IRS, ATF and all other feds ON SIGHT! Let freedom ring!” he posted on Twitter before the election.

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He lost in last month’s primary election, but still managed to get 7,393 Floridians in that district to vote for him. That ought to ring some alarm bells.

So, it’s past time to round up Florida’s tough-talkers for another dog-and-pony show about their fealty to law and order.

This may involve retrieving DeSantis from some other state, where he may be helping another election-denier’s campaign. Or maybe asking the governor to postpone the production of any more ads of him playing a make-believe fighter pilot.

Time would be better spent rounding up the Cabinet, the leaders of the Legislature, and a posse of sheriffs for another go-around.

All they need to do is read the same scripts they used last year when they imagined their words were directed at Black people. But this time, it would be a warning to the real threats to public order and law enforcement in Florida.

Yes, it may not work. I suspect that some of the state leaders and MAGA sheriffs might actually be on the lawless side of this one. That’s because, so far, we haven’t heard a peep from any of them as Trump, once again, tries to use street violence as an argument to abandon the rule of law.

Dust off old speeches for right words to say

Maybe, these bold defenders of law and order in Florida have lost their year-old scripts. That’s OK. I’ve got their words down.

DeSantis can repeat this line of his from last year:

“We are holding those who incite violence in our communities accountable, supporting our law enforcement officers who risk their lives every day to keep us safe and protecting Floridians from the chaos of mob violence.”

That will be a welcome change of direction from DeSantis, who instead has been referring to the lawful retrieval of the nation’s secrets from an obstructing Trump, a private citizen without a security clearance, as a banana republic-style “raid.”

Once DeSantis shows that his street-violence rhetoric doesn’t just apply to some people, Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis can dust off this beauty of his from last year:

“As citizens and businesses flee states like California and New York for sunny Florida, the Governor has fired off another message to the rest of the world that Florida will put the safety of its citizens first and foremost.”

And Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd can rehash his “Florida will not wait for its cities to burn before taking action to protect her citizens.”

It’s time to take action, Florida. Time for our leaders to pick a side.

Time to find out if your tough talk directed at Black Lives Matter applies to the real violent threats facing Florida.

Frank Cerabino is a columnist at the Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at fcerabino@gannett.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida law aimed at Black Lives Matter applies to Trump supporters