Florida Governor Ron DeSantis 'to allow armed citizens to shoot suspected looters and rioters' who target businesses in an expansion of the state's Stand Your Ground law
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is proposing an expansion to the state's Stand Your Ground law that would allow armed citizens to shoot and possibly kill anyone they suspect of rioting or looting.
DeSantis drafted the so-called 'anti-mob' legislation in response to months of unrest around the country this year. In some instances, peaceful protests against police brutality gave way to violence and looting, including Florida.
The governor is seeking to expand Florida's list of 'forcible felonies' to justify using force against people engaged in looting and 'criminal mischief' that disrupts a business, according the Miami Herald.
If it passes, DeSantis' legislation could widen Florida's Stand Your Ground law to allow citizens to use lethal force even if they don't feel their own personal safety is at risk.
Florida Gov Ron DeSantis is proposing an expansion to the state's Stand Your Ground law that would allow armed citizens to shoot and possibly kill anyone they suspect of rioting or looting
DeSantis drafted the so-called 'anti-mob' legislation in response to months of unrest around the country this year. In some instances, peaceful protests against police brutality gave way to violence and looting, including Florida
DeSantis' proposal comes weeks after he vowed to crack down on 'violent and disorderly assemblies' - referencing protests against racial injustice that have roiled the nation since the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
The governor hopes to curb those assemblies by permitting violence against anyone involved in the 'interruption or impairment' of a business.
The draft version of the law states this can include someone suspected of looting, which is defined as 'burglary within 500 feet of violent or disorderly assembly.'
The legislation also includes measures that would classify blocking traffic during a protest as a third-degree felony, and would grant immunity to drivers who unintentionally kill or injure protesters blocking traffic.
It would also allow the state to withhold funds from local governments and cities that cut police budgets.
DeSantis circulated a draft of his proposal to the state's Senate Committee on Criminal Justice and the House Judiciary Committee last week after he won re-election, according to the Herald.
The proposal immediately sparked outcry from critics who called it dangerous, unconstitutional and 'clearly political'.
'It allows for vigilantes to justify their actions,' former Miami-Dade County prosecutor Denise Georges told the Herald.
'It also allows for death to be the punishment for a property crime — and that is cruel and unusual punishment.
'We cannot live in a lawless society where taking a life is done so casually and recklessly.'
Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber, a former Democratic state legislator who opposed the Stand Your Ground law when it was first passed in 2005, said the proposal 'sounds like an invitation to incite violence'.
Gelber speculated that DeSantis was motivated to draft the bill by his desire to take over Trump's slot in the Republican Party.
'It's clear that the Trump beauty pageant is still going on with governors and senators, who all want to be the next Trump, and the governor is clearly a very good contestant,' Gelber said of DeSantis, a staunch Trump ally.
The expansion comes in response to police-brutality protests that erupted across Florida and the rest of the U.S. this past summer. Pictured, protesters gather at Fort Lauderdale Police Department during a rally in response to the death of George Floyd
Florida's Stand Your Ground law has been steeped in controversy ever since it was passed 15 years ago.
The statute eliminated the duty of a person to retreat before using force to counter a threat and gave the courts more leeway to grant immunity to people they believe acted in self-defense.
The law was amended in 2017 to force prosecutors to provide 'clear and convincing' evidence that a defendant was not acting in self-defense. Prior to that amendment, it was up to the defense to prove that the defendant's life was in danger.
Critics say the law has emboldened reckless use of force by fostering a 'shoot first' mentality.
They fear that DeSantis' proposed expansion of where the law can be applied will lead to even more violence.
'It dangerously gives armed private citizens power to kill as they subjectively determine what constitutes "criminal mischief" that interferes with a business,' former Miami-Dade prosecutor Aubrey Webb told the Herald.
'Someone graffiti-ing "Black Lives Matter" on a wall? Urinating behind a dumpster? Blocking an entrance?'
Reid Rubin, a retired Miami-Dade homicide prosecutor, agreed that the proposal is far too broad.
'Any number of things could occur. "Interruption or impairment" to what degree? You could have people who are peacefully assembling who go in and out of a store — and a store owner or even a passerby could get nervous and misinterpret something and think they have the right to use unnecessary physical force — or even deadly force,' Rubin said.
DeSantis has not yet submitted a formal version of the bill but reportedly urged state lawmakers to consider his proposal this month.
The governor routinely touted his plans during appearances at Trump rallies in the weeks leading up to the election, as he and the president pushed their 'law and order' message.
DeSantis routinely touted his plans to crack down on protests during appearances at Trump rallies in the weeks leading up to the election
FLORIDA'S STAND YOUR GROUND LAW
Travyon Martin, 17, was shot dead in 2012
In 2005, Florida enacted its law whereby it is legal for a person to exert deadly force if;
I) the person reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself, or another, or to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony; or
II) the person acts under a reasonable belief as to the necessity of force
In most cases, self-defense only works as a criminal defense if a person has tried to get themselves out of danger and failed to first. It is known as a 'duty to retreat.'
Stand Your Ground states differ because they do not impose a duty to retreat.
George Zimmerman, who shot the teenager, was acquitted after using a Stand Your Ground defense
In Florida, the law not only protects a person from criminal prosecution but also from civil proceedings.
It is one of the strongest among the 25 states which have Stand Your Ground laws.
Most of them are in the South and 10 actually include the phrase 'stand your ground' in the legislation.
It sparked fury in 2012 in Florida when a jury acquitted George Zimmerman in the death of teenager Trayvon Martin.
Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer in the town of Sanford, followed Martin, who he said was behaving 'suspiciously', as he walked to a 7-Eleven to get a snack.
They got into an altercation afterwards and Zimmerman shot him in the chest.
The teenager was unarmed and died three minutes later. But Zimmerman said he feared for his life and a jury believed him.
FLORIDA'S STAND YOUR GROUND LAW
Travyon Martin, 17, was shot dead in 2012
In 2005, Florida enacted its law whereby it is legal for a person to exert deadly force if;
I) the person reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself, or another, or to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony; or
II) the person acts under a reasonable belief as to the necessity of force
In most cases, self-defense only works as a criminal defense if a person has tried to get themselves out of danger and failed to first. It is known as a 'duty to retreat.'
Stand Your Ground states differ because they do not impose a duty to retreat.
George Zimmerman, who shot the teenager, was acquitted after using a Stand Your Ground defense
In Florida, the law not only protects a person from criminal prosecution but also from civil proceedings.
It is one of the strongest among the 25 states which have Stand Your Ground laws.
Most of them are in the South and 10 actually include the phrase 'stand your ground' in the legislation.
It sparked fury in 2012 in Florida when a jury acquitted George Zimmerman in the death of teenager Trayvon Martin.
Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer in the town of Sanford, followed Martin, who he said was behaving 'suspiciously', as he walked to a 7-Eleven to get a snack.
They got into an altercation afterwards and Zimmerman shot him in the chest.
The teenager was unarmed and died three minutes later. But Zimmerman said he feared for his life and a jury believed him.