14 Protestors Arrested After Storming Florida Statehouse to Confront Governor Ron DeSantis
May 4 2023, Published 3:45 p.m. ET
14 protestors were arrested after storming Ron DeSantis’ office to confront the Florida governor, RadarOnline.com has learned.
The incident took place on Wednesday afternoon when a group of demonstrators, the Dream Defenders, occupied DeSantis’ Tallahassee office inside the Florida State Capitol building.
Dream Defenders is a human rights non-profit organization that was created in 2013 following the tragic murder of Trayvon Martin and, according to a spokesperson for the organization, the Florida police used the “Dream Defenders rule” to arrest the protestors.
The “Dream Defenders rule” is reportedly a protocol created after Martin’s 2013 murder that bans overnight stays at the Florida statehouse.
Also shocking are allegations the Florida police assaulted a USA Today reporter as they arrested the protestors, while also prohibiting other media outlets from entering the building.
"Gov. DeSantis and Republican lawmakers have chosen to attack many of Florida's most vulnerable and historically marginalized communities with policies that attack who they are, who they love and how and what they learn,” Dwight Bullard, a Senior Political Advisor at the ally organization Florida Rising and who was arrested, said in a statement obtained by this outlet.
The Dream Defenders reportedly planned the protest as part of a larger national protest called Freedom to Learn. The organization then “altered” its protest to address a number of issues plaguing Florida’s marginalized communities.
But when the protestors stormed the Florida governor’s office to demand a meeting with DeSantis, the rumored 2024 presidential candidate allegedly called for the demonstrators to be arrested.
“By virtue of being born, we are entitled to a real dignified democracy that gives us a say on our blocks, in our cities, in our schools, and the places we work,” said Nailah Summers-Polite, the co-director of Dream Defenders and the first protestors to be arrested on Wednesday, in a statement obtained by RadarOnline.com.
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"This is not a singular issue situation, this is the culmination of every repressive piece of legislation that has been passed this session,” added Jamil Davis, the Florida state organizing manager of Black Voters Matter.
“We need [DeSantis] to care for the people and not a cultural agenda to win his way to the presidency.”
