TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Monday, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law new regulations surrounding protests outside of private homes in Florida.
The new law will prohibit picketing and protesting outside of a person’s home — a rule that DeSantis said will “provide protection” to Florida residents.
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According to the new law, law enforcement may arrest those protesting outside of a private residence if they refuse to disperse. Such an offense can be punishable as a second-degree misdemeanor.
The law came in the wake of protests that began in 2020 with the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Florida lawmakers drafted the bill following an incident where protesters demonstrated outside a vacation home in Windermere belonging to Derek Chauvin, the former police officer convicted for Floyd’s death.
Law enforcement tried to disperse the crowd gathering in the residential neighborhood, but learned they did not have the right.
There have been other protests in other parts of Florida since then.
In signing the bill into law, DeSantis invoked recent protests outside the homes of U.S. Supreme Court justices in opposition to a leaked draft decision about Roe v. Wade.
“This bill will provide protection to those living in residential communities, and I am glad to sign it into law,” DeSantis said.