Anarchists in Orlando dropped a banner in solidarity with political prisoner Eric King, held captive by the state after attacking a Congress member’s office in solidarity with the Ferguson Uprising of 2014. King is serving out a 10-year sentence, and recently was found not guilty of assaulting a prison guard, which would have given him 20 years more.
The Tequesta Black Star has produced a map of walkouts in Florida and elsewhere in the United States against the Don’t Say Gay bill. There are 63 locations logged so far, all accessible on an interactive Google Map.
Thousands of students across Florida walked out in a statewide mobilization against the Don’t Say Gay bill, which would ban discussion of LGBT+ issues in elementary schools and has passed through the state legislature.
High schools participated reaching from Seminole County to Flagler, with Riverview High, Freedom High, Gibbs High and many more present. In Tallahassee, students marched from their high schools to the Florida House, occupying the floors to condemn the bill’s passage.
Repression was also reported during the walkouts, with the lead organizer being suspended indefinitely by his school for passing out Pride flags.
DaJen Eats gathered in Orlando to protest their firing after speaking out against the manipulation of timestamps for breaks and clock-out times, inconsistent payment of tips, and unsafe physical working conditions. The rallygoers demanded that their employment be restored, and all demands to improve pay and working conditions be satisfied.
Media via Central Florida Industrial Workers of the World
Hundreds of protesters gathered in Orlando to denounce the Don’t Say Gay bill, which would prohibit the discussion of LGBT+ issues in classrooms across Florida. The bill recently passed through the House, without an amendment that would have forced schools to out students to their families in 6 weeks or less.
Counterprotesters at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando gathered to denounce Governor DeSantis’ mismanagement of the pandemic, which up to the present has caused nearly 70,000 deaths attributed to COVID-19.
Despite being victim to harassment from CPAC attendees, no heated confrontations occurred at the event.
Tamarac police officer Gregory Lacella brutally assaulted 15-year-old Delucca Rolle in 2019 at a shopping plaza. An appeals court agreed with Officer Lacella’s Stand Your Ground claim on Thursday, eliminating charges of battery placed against him.
In a video recorded by a bystander, Officer Lacella and another deputy can be seen pepper-spraying Rolle before throwing him to the ground, banging his head against the pavement, and punching him in the head several times.
Delucca Role, the victim of Lacella’s assault, was charged with assault on a police officer, and, upon inquiry by local news channels, was found to have a clean criminal record. The charges were later dropped.
During the investigation, Lacella claimed he feared for his life and used the Stand Your Ground claim in court to defend his brutal attack on 15-year-old Rolle. A Florida appeals court agreed with the argument, ruling that Rolle’s aggressive behavior justified Lacerra’s response.
In 2016, North Miami police officer Jonathon Aledda shot unarmed Charles Kinsey, the behavioral therapist of Arnaldo Rios Soto, an autistic man who lived at a nearby group home residence. On Wednesday, a state appeals court overturned his conviction in the case.
Police, arriving on the scene, found Soto holding a toy truck that Officer Aledda claimed to look like a weapon. Officials claim the responding officers believed Soto was holding Kinsey hostage, despite Kinsey getting on the ground with his hands up and begging them not to shoot.
A recording shows Kinsey begging officers not to fire, making it clear that Soto was holding a toy truck. Officer Aledda then opened fire, shooting Kinsey in the leg. Kinsey later asked the police why they shot him, receiving an alleged response of “I don’t know.”
The definition of attempted voluntary manslaughter is where the defendant committed, obtained, or was negligently culpable in an act that would have killed the victim but someone stopped the death or the defendant’s actions failed to kill the victim.
Despite the hard proof that Officer Aledda shot Charles Kinsey, the original jury acquitted him of all charges other than misdemeanor culpable negligence.
Over 100 protesters gathered outside the St. Petersburg City Hall to demand rent control amid one of the worst housing crises in American history, of which St. Petersburg and other Florida cities are epicenters.
Many organizations, including Tampa Bay Party for Socialism and Liberation, St. Petersburg People’s Council, and the Allendale Methodist Church spoke at the event, condemning the city government for refusing to acknowledge the struggles of the people outside its doors.
Members of the St. Petersburg People’s Council voted to escalate if the city doesn’t take action, gathering signatures from residents willing to set up an encampment at the city hall. Despite the risk of arrest, many signed up, holding the belief that incarceration is a lesser burden than excessive rent.
Media via St. Petersburg Tenants’ Union
Dozens of protesters assembled in a Miami “A Day Without Immigrants” event to demand better treatment of farmworkers and a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants in the United States, calling for an immediate moratorium on deportations for reasons excepting violent crime.
Media via American Friends Service Committee-Florida
