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Aug 30, 2023

Tallahassee City Commission chooses to fight Florida 'anti

Tallahassee will mount a legal challenge to the state’s “anti-riot” law (HB 1),

Tallahassee will mount a legal challenge to the state's "anti-riot" law (HB 1), with commissioners saying it infringes on free speech and encroaches on home rule.

In a unanimous vote Wednesday, Tallahassee city commissioners committed to engaging pro bono, or free, legal services to challenge the legislation that was among Gov. Ron DeSantis’ top 2021 priorities.

More:Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey: 'Anti-riot' legislation 'tramples' home rule authority

It may not be needed, however: A judge in an existing federal case has already granted what's known as a preliminary injunction against the law, meaning it can't be enforced.

And part of the standard for such a court order includes finding the parties fighting against the law in that case have a "likelihood of prevailing at trial."

Mayor John Dailey first pitched challenging the law and was vocally opposed to it in March during the 2021 Legislative Session.

In a tweet Wednesday, he said: "We’re challenging HB 1 because policy and budget decisions that affect your livelihood and well-being should be made by the government closest to the people with direct citizen input, not by the state through a line item veto."

Commissioner Jeremy Matlow called the law an "overreach" by state government in that it allows the governor to alter local government budgets should they decrease funding for their police departments. In the 2022 budget approved last month, the Tallahassee Police Department's budget increased by $30 million.

Matlow also leveled concerns over the law's implications to First Amendment rights.

"This law is a solution looking for a problem, and unfortunately, in its search for a problem, it has overstepped its boundaries," Matlow said.

More:What's in the anti-riot law and how will it play out?

Eight other cities in Florida, most recently Gainesville, have already launched legal challenges to the legislation, which creates a number of new crimes and increased penalties connected to protests that turn violent or block traffic.

The law created a new definition of "riot," criminalized "cyber intimidation by publication" — intended to bar the sharing of government officials’ contact information — and requires people arrested for the misdemeanor offense of unlawful assembly to be held without bail until their first appearance in court.

The city will sign on with three nonprofit organizations — the Public Rights Project, Community Justice Project and Southern Poverty Law Center — to file the suit free of cost to Tallahassee.

Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker halted enforcement of the law in September after rebuffing a request by DeSantis, Attorney General Ashley Moody and county sheriffs –including Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeil – to toss out the legal challenge. The others are Mike Williams of Jacksonville and Gregory Tony of Broward County.

"Its vagueness permits those in power to weaponize its enforcement against any group who wishes to express any message that the government disapproves of," Walker wrote.

The lawsuit was filed in August by social justice groups the Dream Defenders, Black Collective, Chainless Change, Black Lives Matter Alliance Broward and the Florida State Conference of the NAACP.

McNeil, through a spokeswoman, said he was named in the lawsuit but has not taken a position on the bill. He declined to comment, citing the pending litigation.

Georgina C. Yeomans, who is representing the plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit, said the focus was on sheriffs in areas where her clients have been involved in protests that resulted in clashes with law enforcement.

Yeomans pointed out that the city of Tallahassee's pending lawsuit focused on different issues in HB 1. She also said McNeil's position as the sheriff in Tallahassee means his office is involved with a number of demonstrations throughout the year.

Last Labor Day, a contingent of Tallahassee's law enforcement officials clad in riot gear arrested more than a dozen protesters during a demonstration in front of the Florida Capitol.

"That incident is of great concern to our clients and contributes to their reasonable perception this law puts them in danger," said Yeomans, who is based in Washington with the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund. "There's (also) a fair amount of protest activity that goes on around the legislative process as well."

DeSantis championed the law after nationwide protests focused on racial justice last year after the death of George Floyd, a Black man who was killed by a Minneapolis police officer.

Tallahassee City Commissioner Dianne Williams-Cox said the city was uniquely positioned to lead in opposing the law because of the number of protests that occur in the state capital.

Back story:

She noted state efforts to threaten financial penalties against all three major boards in Tallahassee — the Leon County School Board and Leon County Commission are facing fines over their coronavirus mitigation efforts — and now the City Commission.

"I think it's proper we send a message to the rest of the state that we don't think it's OK," Williams-Cox said. "There's a great encroachment on what we can do as locals compared to the heavy hand on high. This sends a message that it's enough."

Contact Karl Etters at [email protected] or @KarlEtters on Twitter.

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