They sang, stayed put and got arrested in ‘the freest state’ | Steve Bousquet

TALLAHASSEE — They call themselves the “Florida 14.”

Fourteen people were arrested Wednesday and charged with trespassing. Their crime: Peacefully protesting outside Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office.

This was a gross overreaction by law enforcement to an animated group of young people with healthy lungs who sang civil rights songs and voiced frustration over the frightening direction this state is taking.

They spoke for millions. For that, they were herded onto a bus, booked, charged with misdemeanors and barred from the Capitol for a year.

Ten years ago, a similar group from the Dream Defenders group occupied the Capitol for 31 straight days after the shooting death of Trayvon Martin and his killer’s acquittal. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement wisely used restraint. Nobody was arrested.

In 2000, two Black legislators, Kendrick Meek and Tony Hill, occupied the lieutenant governor’s office overnight and refused to leave until they met with Gov. Jeb Bush over his affirmative action policies. A publicity stunt? Sure, but they had a purpose. I was there. Nobody was arrested.

This week’s protesters, mostly from South Florida, brought hand-lettered signs, sang songs and chanted. Noisy but orderly, they refused to leave when the Capitol building was closed to the public at 5 p.m., even though it was still packed with legislators, state employees, lobbyists and reporters. After being warned, they were arrested and booked at the Leon County Jail across the street.

If people are so committed to their cause that they will sleep on the ice cold, rock-hard marble floors in the Capitol, I say, go for it. It’s fun for about two minutes. Then it’s miserable.

But no. They were arrested.

One protester, Thomas Kennedy of Miami, has made a name for himself by repeatedly showing up at DeSantis events in Miami and causing what the late Congressman John Lewis used to call “good trouble.” A member of the Democratic National Committee, Kennedy was charged with violating Florida Statute 810.08, “trespass in structure or conveyance.”

“We’re fed up,” Kennedy said. “The pay-to-play politics, the corruption, the lack of addressing any substantial issue from our perspective for working-class Floridians and the hateful legislation that has been passing attacking gay people, immigrants, workers, teachers.”

They were processed in the basement-level Cabinet room, the same room where DeSantis held his celebratory post-session press conference on Friday and talked about Florida being a “law and order” state.

The peaceful protesters were banned from the Capitol grounds for a year and warned that they would be arrested if they tried to return. Not only does that sound unenforceable, but I could not locate a one-year ban anywhere in the statute books.

Video clips on social media showed Florida Highway Patrol troopers escorting protesters out of the Capitol. Troopers? Why weren’t they out on I-10, where they belong, catching speeders and drunk drivers?

The strong police presence came as no surprise. The receptionist in the governor’s office who saw the protesters coming, Kathryn Glass, is the wife of FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass, a DeSantis appointee.

At the police academy, they teach recruits how to defuse tensions. The point is to not use force. These people were not rioting. These were young kids, exercising their First Amendment rights. For that they got arrested. This incident has not received the media attention it deserved, in my opinion.

The protesters were mostly Dream Defenders, criticizing actions by the Legislature against immigrants, LGBTQ people and others.

“Gov. DeSantis and Republican lawmakers have chosen to attack many of Florida’s most vulnerable and historically marginalized communities with policies that attack who they are, who they love, and how and what they learn,” said Dwight Bullard, a former state senator and senior advisor at Florida Rising, another group whose members participated.

“(DeSantis) stokes division to try and make white people afraid, and I’m here to say that we will not be divided or tricked because we know that we are stronger when we stand together,” said protester Julia Daniel of Showing Up for Racial Justice.

Rep. Susan Valdes, D-Tampa, issued a statement defending the protesters and criticizing the actions of law enforcement.

“Those protesters were not disruptive or unruly, but were peacefully chanting and singing,” Valdes said. “They were exercising their First Amendment right to protest the bills that have passed the legislative session and signed into law by our governor that are stripping away the rights of individuals.”

This is life in “the freest state.” Show up to protest. Stick around after 5. Sing a few songs. You’ll end up in jail.

Steve Bousquet is Opinion Editor and a columnist in Tallahassee and Fort Lauderdale. Contact him at sbousquet@sunsentinel.com or (850) 567-2240 and follow him on Twitter @stevebousquet.