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DeSantis signs law against picketing, protesting outside private homes

Florida governor said legislation will ‘provide protection’ to residents

FILE - In this May 29, 2020, file photo, protesters demonstrate in front of a townhouse owned by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, in Windermere, Fla. Americans overwhelmingly want clear standards for police on when officers may use force and consequences imposed on cops who do so excessively. That's according to a new poll from the The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research that finds Americans favor significant changes to the countrys criminal justice system. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File) (Phelan M. Ebenhack, Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Monday, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law new regulations surrounding protests outside of private homes in Florida.

The new law will prohibit picketing and protesting outside of a person’s home — a rule that DeSantis said will “provide protection” to Florida residents.

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According to the new law, law enforcement may arrest those protesting outside of a private residence if they refuse to disperse. Such an offense can be punishable as a second-degree misdemeanor.

The law came in the wake of protests that began in 2020 with the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Florida lawmakers drafted the bill following an incident where protesters demonstrated outside a vacation home in Windermere belonging to Derek Chauvin, the former police officer convicted for Floyd’s death.

Law enforcement tried to disperse the crowd gathering in the residential neighborhood, but learned they did not have the right.

There have been other protests in other parts of Florida since then.

In signing the bill into law, DeSantis invoked recent protests outside the homes of U.S. Supreme Court justices in opposition to a leaked draft decision about Roe v. Wade.

“This bill will provide protection to those living in residential communities, and I am glad to sign it into law,” DeSantis said.