Trespass charge dismissed against Jacksonville activist Ben Frazier who was protesting DeSantis

A trespass charge filed against community activist Ben Frazier has been dropped, three weeks after he was handcuffed and led out of a news conference planned by the governor in Jacksonville, according to his attorney.

Following his Jan. 4 arrest, Frazier demanded the charge be dismissed and for Gov Ron DeSantis to meet with him. He warned that he and attorney John Phillips would file legal action against the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, governor and anyone else involved in violating his civil and constitutional rights.

Frazier tried to attend the news conference to discuss the "shoddy job" he said DeSantis and the state have done to handle the COVID-19 pandemic.

In announcing that St. Augustine-based special prosecutor David Smith of the 7th Judicial Circuit had dismissed the charge, Frazier said freedom of speech is as important today as it was when the Bill of Rights was first written.

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"I am thankful for all of the people who supported us on and off of social media," Frazier's statement reads. "It should be duly noted by all that Governor DeSantis is not above the U.S. Constitution. We invite him to live up to his office’s promise of a meeting for the purpose of discussing the cares and concerns of poor and Black Floridians."

Phillips said there was no need for the arrest.

"They knew it. Now we begin the process of legal action pertaining to Mr. Frazier's illegal and inappropriate arrest and restriction of speech," he said.

The court document citing the dismissal did not go into details for the reason but said no further action was required.

"We felt the arrest was sufficient punishment in this case," said Bryan Shorstein, spokesman for the 7th Judicial Circuit.

What transpired that day

The 71-year-old head of the Northside Coalition of Jacksonville said he was exercising his right as a citizen to request time to talk with the governor when he was handcuffed and escorted from his electric wheelchair out of the Duval County Health Department news conference site.

DeSantis, Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo and other state officials were set to speak about the state's expansion of monoclonal antibody treatment sites in Jacksonville and elsewhere when Frazier and a few other protesters showed up.

Prior to the news conference, Frazier decried DeSantis' stance on COVID-19 measures, saying he had been "asleep at the wheel" in recent weeks as the number of people infected and hospitalized had dramatically risen.

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Staff asked him to leave, citing it was a private briefing. Frazier stood up saying it was a public building and he had a right to be there. As he became more engaged, the Sheriff's Office was called in and ushered him out.

Organizers then relocated the news conference to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement facility in nearby Lavilla. The Governor's Office later reiterated the event was for credentialed media only.

A decision whether to prosecute

Jacksonville-based 4th Judicial Circuit State Attorney Melissa Nelson requested the case be reassigned to another circuit since her office has a relationship with Frazier in his capacity as a community activist.

"At times, Mr. Frazier has acted in the role of advocate, and other times, concerned citizen, and still at other times, adversary," Nelson's Jan. 6 letter to the Governor's Office said. "... Indeed, over the last 18 months, our office has been engaged in dialogue with Mr. Frazier — at his invitation — to address various criminal justice issues unique to our community."

Nelson's request was denied because some of DeSantis' staff members were directly involved in the actions that led to Frazier's removal, thus causing "concerns that the ends of justice would not be best served if this office were to select which state attorney should investigate or prosecute the matter," according to Florida General Counsel Ryan Newman's Jan. 14 letter.

Nelson responded by asking 7th Judicial Circuit State Attorney R.J. Larizza if he could appoint a special prosecutor, and Assistant State Attorney Smith was chosen.

"I have appointed you as a special prosecutor in this matter and ask that you make an independent determination as to whether to file charges, or not," Nelson wrote Smith in a Jan. 18 letter. "You have full authority to reach whatever decision you deem appropriate but must do so without input from any employee in our office."

Despite Frazier's request that DeSantis meet with Frazier, there is still no word from the Governor’s Office, Phillips said.

dscanlan@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4549

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Charge dismissed against Jacksonville activist protesting DeSantis