Ron DeSantis, the Republican Governor of Florida, is moving forward with legislation that will empower citizens to defend themselves and defend businesses with deadly force against roving mobs who commit mass looting and rioting, as is the style of violent left-wing political groups like Black Lives Matter and Antifa.
A key component of DeSantis’ “anti-mob” legislation includes an expansion to the state’s famous “Stand Your Ground” law, which allows citizens to use deadly force if they fear for their lives.
The expansion would empower citizens to use force against rioters who engage in criminal mischief that results in the “interruption or impairment” of a business.
Looting, which the draft defines as theft burglary within 500 feet of a “violent or disorderly assembly,” would also become recognized as criminal behavior that could be legally repelled with a use of force.
Other aspects of the draft that would keep the streets of Florida peaceful include making “protests” that disrupt the public by blocking traffic a third degree felony, and granting legal immunity to drivers who unintentionally kill or maim protesters who were unlawfully blocking traffic.
Criminal penalties for people engaged in “violent and disorderly assemblies” would also be strengthened, and state funds would be able to be withheld from local governments that buckle to mob demands to “defund the police.”
The Miami Herald reports that DeSantis “circulated a draft version of the bill — titled ‘anti-mob legislation draft’ — to the Senate Committee on Criminal Justice, according to emails and a copy of the bill draft obtained by the Herald/Times.”
DeSantis’ anti-mob bill is especially prescient given reports that left-wing organizations will take to the streets to commit violence and looting if they are upset by the results of President Donald Trump’s investigations into voter fraud in the 2020 election.
