Vietnam war veteran turned peace activist Scott Camil has been to a few protests over the years.
He was one of the Gainesville Eight, a group of men who were charged with conspiracy to disrupt the 1972 Republican convention in Miami Beach. They were acquitted.
At the 1971 University of Florida homecoming parade, he joined in some street theater he and others dressed in army clothes, carried a flag-draped coffin and pretended to stab people in the crowd who were in on the gag and had fake blood.
Over the years, Camil has slowed down a bit on the protest front but he is riled by the “anti-riot” bill passed by the Florida Legislature and signed into immediate law by Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday of this past week.
In a 20-minute speech, Poe shared the city’s accomplishments and failures, with occasional cameos from city commissioners and local leaders. He discussed topics from homelessness to social justice.
WUFT News fact checked and added context to some of the statements the city included in the address:
(Mayor Lauren Poe:) In the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd, organizers worked cooperatively to work with city community members, including the Gainesville Police Department, to hold peaceful and powerful demonstrations, continuing Gainesville’s long-standing commitment to protecting our neighbors’ right to peacefully protest.
Fact check: Gainesville was one of about 30 U.S. cities that held a “March for Our Freedom” protest in May following Floyd’s death. Organizers urged the community to stay peaceful and use the event as an opportunity to spark awareness of police brutality. After the event, William John Connelly drove his car into protesters, according to police.