Gov. Ron DeSantis and Republican law enforcement officials in Florida have used the protests in California to cast their state as “anti-riot,” warning potential protesters of harsh consequences if demonstrations are anything but peaceful.
Mr. DeSantis said in a podcast recorded on Wednesday that the state had a “zero tolerance policy” for protests that block roads or intersections. He cited a Florida law passed in 2021 in response to the protests over the murder of George Floyd.
“If you’re driving on one of those streets and a mob comes and surrounds your vehicle and threatens you, you have a right to flee for your safety,” Mr. DeSantis told a conservative podcast host, Dave Rubin. “And so if you drive off and you hit one of these people, that’s their fault for impinging on you.”
At the time that the law was passed, civil liberty advocates said it could criminalize peaceful protests. The Florida Supreme Court ruled last year that nonviolent protesters and bystanders could not be held criminally liable under a provision of the law.
On Thursday, James Uthmeier, Florida’s Republican attorney general, held a news conference in Titusville “to put the public on notice” about the state’s hard-line policies. He was joined by Sheriff Wayne Ivey of Brevard County, who spoke in even starker terms than the governor.
“If you throw a brick, a fire bomb or point a gun at one of our deputies,” he said, “we will be notifying your family where to collect your remains at, because we will kill you graveyard dead.” He added, “We’re not going to play.”
Protests against immigration raids that began in Los Angeles last week have expanded to other cities around the country, though few have taken place in Florida. There have been some scattered instances in other states of protesters throwing rocks and lighting cars on fire, although many protesters have been peaceful. Police intervened at a protest in downtown Tampa, Fla., on Monday after people protesting immigration enforcement clashed with counter protesters who back Mr. Trump.
On Wednesday, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said it had arrested a 26-year-old man for responding to a post on social media about the protests. The man wrote that if he saw any protesters, he would “plow through” with a tow truck.
Demonstrations are planned across the state on Saturday as part of a national effort to oppose some of President Trump’s policies.
Patricia Mazzei is the lead reporter for The Times in Miami, covering Florida and Puerto Rico.
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