ORLANDO, Fla. (Legal Newsline) – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has come to the defense of his anti-riot bill, urging a federal judge to throw out the constitutional challenge to it filed by Black Lives Matter Tampa and a lawyer group.
As Anti-Riot Laws Pass, Legal Challenges Grow By
Cara Bayles | June 6, 2021, 8:02 PM EDT
Police arrested Black Lives Matter protesters in Columbus Ohio last summer. A few months later, state lawmakers proposed a bill that would have created stiff penalties for protesters who block traffic, and create affirmative defenses for people who harm or kill rioters. The bill failed, but similar legislation is still pending in many states. (Photo by Stephen Zenner / SOPA Images/Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images)
Weeks after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law what he called the strongest anti-looting, anti-rioting, pro-law-enforcement piece of legislation in the country, two different federal lawsuits sought to overturn it.