Florida Gov. Ro DeSantis has drafted legislation to broaden the state's "stand your ground" laws, recommending that people be given the right to shoot "looters" or allow them to use deadly force as self-defense if they think they're in danger of being seriously harmed or even killed by another person.
The draft specifically mentions "looters" and "rioters," allowing citizens to employ force against those who might be marauding or plundering within 500 feet of a "disorderly or violent" assembly, based on the "anti-mob legislation draft" obtained by The Miami Herald. This could make demonstrations especially dangerous in Florida, where outside troublemakers have been known to cause civil unrest.
The governor's draft also proposes that blocking traffic during a demonstration should be considered a third-degree crime and that drivers who kill or harm protesters "by accident" be offered immunity. As Black Lives Matter demonstrations have continued this year since the killing of George Floyd in May, multiple accounts of drivers ramming their vehicles into protesters have been common.
But some legal experts take the proposed measure with a grain of salt. "It allows for vigilantes to justify their actions," former Miami-Dade County prosecutor Denise Georges said. The legislation also allows for "death to be the punishment for a property crime - and that's cruel and unusual punishment," The Miami Herald quoted him as saying.
Former Miami-Dade prosecutor Aubrey Webb said the legislation was not clear enough and could result in preventable deaths. It gives armed citizens the "power to kill as they subjectively determine what constitutes 'criminal mischief,'" HuffPost reported. For civil rights lawyer Melba Pearson, the legislation could have an impact on freedom of speech and other civil rights.
The push to expand an "anti-mob" law also reflects President Donald Trump's frame of mind toward the largely peaceful demonstrations. DeSantis, whose clampdown mentality mirrors that of Trump, announced he would push such law in the run-up to the U.S. presidential election as he attempted to deliver Florida to the commander in chief, who failed in his reelection bid but won Florida by almost four points.
