Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz has asserted that the controversial HB 1 anti-Riot bill Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law earlier this year “makes protests illegal” and that the governor is going after “peaceful protestors and makes peaceful protests illegal in this state.”
“He himself pushed through a law that made protests illegal,” said Wasserman Schultz.
When Gov.DeSantis signed the bill into law, state and federally elected Democrats like Rep. Wasserman Schultz, called the measure "racist," contending that the new law only targeted Black and Hispanic communities.
During an interview on ABC affiliate Local 10's Sunday morning program, “This Week in South Florida,” Rep. Wasserman Schultz was questioned by host Glenna Milberg about her claim that DeSantis signed a law that made “protests illegal.”
Milberg— The law that was passed does not make protests illegal, it makes violence at protests illegal.
Wasserman Schultz— No, no, he goes after peaceful protestors and makes peaceful protests illegal in this state, and Glenna, that’s why the law has been challenged and it will be struck down as unconstitutional.
Milberg—How so? How does the law make peaceful protests illegal?
Wasserman Schultz—The law in Florida prohibits individuals who are expressing their First Amendment rights to protest and gather in crowds. It makes gathering in crowds unlawful.
Wasserman Schultz’s claim that the law prohibits all protests has contradicted by the letter of the law itself.
Carla Spalding, the Republican congressional candidate running against Wasserman Schultz, said that the congresswoman’s statement about HB 1 was nothing less than “an egregious lie because telling the truth would be expected too much from Debbie.”
“It’s shameful, but expected from her. This is an egregious lie because telling the truth would be expected too much from Debbie,” stated Spalding.
State Senator Shevrin Jones (D) has been a very loud opponent of the law and has in the past said that this law would not keep people from "taking to the streets."
“If you think this piece of legislation is going to stop us from taking it to the streets, I hope somebody got the bail money because we’re taking it to the streets still," stated Sen. Jones.
According to how the bill was written, the law “prohibits three or more person from meeting together to commit a breach of the peace or any other unlawful act.”
