Trish Brown of the Tally 19 spoke on HB1 and its effect on people living in the city. She also spoke up about her recent harassment by the hands of the Tallahassee Police Department.

This rally came at a challenging time for the Tallahassee community. On the morning of April 9, the community woke up to the news that the Tallahassee Police Department had shot and killed a man the night before. That day, local activists joined concerned citizens from across the state who spoke out against HB1/SB484, only to watch the bill pass its first and only Senate committee. And then the next day, just hours before the April 10 anti-HB1/SB484 rally, several officers from the Leon County Sheriff’s office harassed local activist Trish Brown as she was sitting in her parked car.

Community activists also called for greater accountability for the recent police murder of an unnamed victim. Trish Brown, community outreach coordinator for TCAC was the final speaker. “We will never give up! We must fight at all costs to protect the right to protest.”

#TallahasseeFL #PeoplesStruggles #PoliticalRepression #TallahasseeCommunityActionCommitteeTCAC #HB1SB484

“What HB1 makes clear is that police are not protectors of the community but are, in fact, our enemies. They saw millions rise up against police brutality. They saw African Americans, who have endured years of oppression at the hands of the police and the prison industrial complex, push back against this oppression through organizing and they got scared. The police got so scared that they wrote this bill to stop the power of the people,” said Eithne Silva, a member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

The bill is scheduled to go through another senate committee hearing on April 14.

“If this bill passes we need to stay in the streets and keep protesting. They want us to be afraid to speak out. We can't let that happen. We can't back down, we can't sit down and let Ron DeSantis and Florida Republicans win,” said Bill Aiman, a member of the Tampa Bay Community Action Committee.

#TampaFL #PeoplesStruggles #PoliticalRepression #HB1SB484

“With people power, we can always win,” said Angie Nixon, longtime community organizer and newly elected representative of the 14th District.

HB1 and SB484 threaten protesters like the ones who came out on March 2. The legislation, if passed, would:

• Withhold state funding from local governments that redirect tax-payer funds from the police to social programs.
• Eliminate bail until trial for anyone arrested at a protest.
• Make it a felony to obstruct the roads, and not hold drivers accountable for intentionally hitting, injuring, and even killing [people perceived to be] protesters on streets.
• Prohibit “specified assemblies” from partaking in “disorderly” and “violent” conduct or “encouraging and inciting” a riot.
• Up the minimum penalty for actions that are already illegal, i.e. vandalism, battery, and theft, when those actions are done in the context of a protest.
• Bar from state and education employment people arrested at protests, and bar them from receiving unemployment benefits, and take away their right to vote.

Governor DeSantis and his supporters claim that HB1/SB494 was inspired by events at the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6, but a version of that legislation was already drafted and released in September, 2020, right on the heels of brutal mass arrests of anti-police brutality demonstrators in Tallahassee and across Florida.

“This bill is a direct response to the progress we made this summer,” asserted Christina Kittle of Jacksonville Community Action Committee. “This is not going to keep protesters off the streets; this is going to put community members in our already overcrowded jails!”

Tallahassee Community Action Committee member Daisy Sim said that HB1/SB484 would make the already difficult job of organizing no-arrest protests nearly impossible. By vocally resisting the passing of the bill, she hopes, “To encourage people – and to show that there are more supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement than some might think.”

Representative Michelle Raynor-Goolsby spoke to the broad and dangerous scope of the bill: “This is an anti-Black bill, this is an anti-brown bill, this is an anti-woman bill... Anti- any American who finds their rights to be not human rights but privileges to be voted on. And this brings not only marginalized folks’ rights into question. This bill threatens our First Amendment right as Americans, and anyone has the right to resist that.” Later on Raynor-Goolsby reflected on the diversity of opposition to the legislation, “We could see it in the crowd. Folks of many races, ethnicities, sexualities and genders were out protesting with us. We all have to come together to fight for our rights. Fight for everyone or fight for no one.”

Michael Sampson, of Jacksonville Community Action Committee, told the crowd that as long as HB1 was being voted on, people would still continue to fight against it, and that if it passed in the House, people would continue to fight it in the Senate.

Assata Shakur’s famous declaration of resistance and solidarity resonated throughout the protest – on handmade signs and giant banners held aloft; in the voices of speakers wrenching chants from their chests; and in the voices of attendees chanting back.

The protest concluded in unison, and in defiance of legislation that seeks to imprison and disenfranchise all in attendance, “We have nothing to lose but our chains!”

#TallahasseeFL #PeoplesStruggles #PoliticalRepression #HB1SB484 #GovernorRonDesantis

Tallahassee, FL – On March 2, the first day of Florida legislative session, over 30 cars from Jacksonville joined with hundreds of protesters from around the state to rally against House Bill 1/Senate Bill 484, the repressive, anti-speech and racist legislation proposed by Governor Ron DeSantis and the right-wing Florida legislature.

Activists and groups under the banner of the “Florida Alliance” from the Jacksonville Community Action Committee, Tallahassee Community Action Committee, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, the Sound Miami, Black Lives Matter Alliance of Broward County, Pensacola Community Action Committee, Tampa Bay Community Action Committee, Leon County Democrats, Answer Coalition Suncoast, as well as representatives from Our Revolution, the Emergency Campaign for Free Speech and PSL Tampa all spoke to the crowd about the need for this bill to be defeated.

The crowd was also joined by Black State Representatives Michele Raynor Goolsby from the St. Pete area, Angie Nixon from Jacksonville and Travais McCurdy from Orlando, all who spoke in opposition to HB1, praising protesters for coming out. All those state representatives were elected last fall, after the George Floyd rebellion.

“You are all doing the work,” said Representative Michele Raynor Goolsby.

Protesters chanted, “Kill the bill,” and “DeSantis, resign, resign! Protesting is not a crime.”

“We must defeat this bill by any means necessary,” said Monique Sampson, who spoke on behalf of FRSO. “This bill seeks to criminalize our movement and they’re introducing it because they fear the power we have. We must see it defeated.”

HB1 adds stiffer penalties for protests deemed disorderly by police and as well makes defunding and reallocating police budgets nearly impossible. Through this legislation, if local police departments operating budgets are reduced by local municipalities, the governor’s office would have veto power.

The bill also makes it so that protesters arrested at protests wouldn’t be eligible for bail until after their first court appearance, along with other repressive measures meant to intimidate the movement.

To find out more about the Jacksonville Community Action Committee, visit https://jaxtakesaction.org and check out their social media at “Jax Takes Action.”

#TallahasseeFL #PeoplesStruggles #PoliticalRepression #HB1SB484 #FloridaAlliance

“The people are tired of marching while our cries go unheard. The people realize that in order to change the system, we must destroy the system,” said Mutaquee Akbar, president of the NAACP.

Other speakers emphasized previous protests that would have been deemed criminal or illegal due to this bill. Speaker Oz Hernandez, the corresponding secretary for the Leon County Democrats, spoke of his first protest, which was a walkout for Trayvon Martin, a Black youth murdered by George Zimmerman in 2012. “Instead of pushing for equity, our politicians push for the limitation of our rights. House Bill 1 is not bringing anything new to the table that’s going to help the current situation,” said Hernandez.

Others agreed that HB1/SB484 were especially offensive considering the high rate of unemployment, lack of healthcare and failing facilities of Florida. Trish Brown, outreach coordinator, talked about the bill’s hypocritical and unconstitutional stance, and stated, “We’re still fighting for our freedom. There’s so many issues we should be focusing on such as rent control, utilities, debt, CPAC and racial equality but yet our leaders focused on fast-tracking this bill.”

After the speakers were done, individuals from the crowd had an opportunity to speak with. Many emphasized how during the house subcommittee for this bill on January 27, politicians gave the public only one minute to talk.

The event was organized by the Tallahassee Community Action Committee. Organizers plan to meet at 400 S. Monroe Street (the Florida Historic Capitol Museum) on March 2 at 2 p.m. to launch a statewide protest against the bill.

#TallahasseeFL #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #PoliticalRepression #TallahasseeCommunityActionCommitteeTCAC #HB1SB484

A large banner behind the press conference podium read: “#Drop the charges #Tally1419,” reflecting that on September 5, militarized police arrested and charged 14 protest attendees, and in the days after, also arrested four protesters and issued a fill-in-the-blank warrant that still remains nameless. Two of the three Tallyers initially charged with felonies have since had their felonies reduced to misdemeanors. Some of the Tally19 accepted diversion offers requiring community service. Zero individuals among the Tally19 have had all their charges dropped outright, and Ben Grant still faces a felony charge.

Guest speakers Reverend Lee Johnson, Miami-based Trey John of Dignity Power, and Tallahassee City Commissioner Jeremy Mattlow, followed by several of the Tally19, including Ben Grant, took to the mic for two urgent goals: drop the felony charges along with all the September 5 charges and defeat HB1 and SB484, companion bills that would further criminalize nearly all public assemblies while giving a free pass to reactionaries for intentionally killing protesters with their vehicles.

Speakers pointed out that activists in Florida already organize under threat of mass arrest; already experience criminal and political repression by law enforcement and the court system; and already suffer vehicle attacks by reactionary drivers who consistently enjoy total leniency from law enforcement. Speakers called out Tallahassee’s repeated leniency for drivers of vehicle attacks against Black lives matter marches, and simultaneous criminal and political repression against the Tally19 as specifically inconsistent and unjust, and more broadly as a foreboding test case for the rest of Florida.

Trish Brown, press conference emcee, stated, “We are here to demand that State Attorney Jack Campbell and Assistant State Attorney Kathleen Bogenschutz drop the felony charges against Ben Grant, my friend, my community member, and fellow Tally19er. We need all charges to be dropped against all of the Tally19. And we need the community to stand against Governor Ron DeSantis’ anti-protest bills HB1 and SB484.” Brown is a founding member of TCAC, serves as TCAC’s outreach director, ran for city commission in 2020 on a community control of police platform, and was the first arrestee of the Tally19.

In addition to hosting Tuesday’s press conference, TCAC also joined with other local organizations to call in to State Attorney Campbell and Assistant State Attorney Bogenschutz in a mass appeal to drop the felony charges against Ben Grant. A sample script published by TCAC for the call-in day reads:

“On September 5th, community members gathered to protest the unjust grand jury decision which allowed the Tallahassee PD cops who murdered Mychael Johnson, Wilbon Woodard and Tony McDade to walk free. Heavily armed police, who outnumbered protestors 3-to-1, began to brutalize, detain and arrest protestors, with some of them ending up in the hospital. I am calling to demand that State Attorney Jack Campbell DROP ALL FELONY CHARGES against Ben Grant! Protesting injustice in Tallahassee should NOT be criminalized and should NOT be met with militarized brutality from the police!”

Ben Grant is facing a felony charge of up to ten years and $10,000 in fines. His next pretrial is on February 25 and he goes to trial on March 1.

#TallahasseeFL #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #PoliticalRepression #TallahasseeCommunityActionCommitteeTCAC #HB1SB484 #Tallahassee19

Jacksonville, FL – On January 30, the Jacksonville Community Action Committee (JCAC) organized a protest against Florida House Bill 1 (HB1/SB484): Combating Public Disorder. This bill is a 60-page document that prohibits and criminalizes successful tactics of people’s movements throughout history.

HB1 criminalizes the use of public roads for marches and demonstrations, it revokes bail for protesters, and it stifles people’s budgets. HB1 has been deemed favorable by the Criminal Justice and Public Safety’s Subcommittee and is currently being fast-tracked through the legislature. The bill is currently in the House Justice Appropriations Subcommittee in the Florida legislature.

Over 250 people gathered in front of the Duval County Courthouse to express their disapproval of HB1. The action began with the chant: “DeSantis, resign! Protesting is not a crime!” Maria Garcia, a JCAC organizer, explained that if HB1, hypothetically, passed this past summer, then many of Jacksonville’s protesters would have been arrested and jailed without bail. These protesters would still be awaiting their court date.

The JCAC was joined by the following local officials who also opposed this legislation: Councilwoman Brenda Priestly Jackson, Councilman Garrett Dennis, Florida State Representative Tracie Davis, and Florida State Representative Angie Nixon. Angie Nixon said, “This bill is an attack on Black lives. This bill legalizes racism by hindering the freedom of speech for a select few.” Nixon emphasized that this bill is pointed. It is targeted at Black lives matter protesters, and it will cause the most harm to Black communities.

Monique Sampson, an SDS organizer, shouted, “It may seem like Ron DeSantis and his pawns have all the power, but we have the power of the people on our side, and we are ready to fight!”

The JCAC is calling on people to continue the fight by putting pressure on state representatives to “kill the bill”. The JCAC is calling on supporters to use this link to email state representatives in opposition to HB1: BIT.LY/STOPHB1.

You can follow more about the JCAC’s future plans at jaxtakesaction.org.

#JacksonvilleFL #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #PoliticalRepression #JacksonvilleCommunityActionCommitteeJCAC #HB1SB484