TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Tallahassee police announced on Monday that 11 protestors, which included Florida politicians, had been arrested after they refused to leave city property following several requests.
Police said that protestors came out against Senate Bill 300, titled the “Heartbeat Protection Act,” which would set a six-week limit for abortions after pregnancy and provide pregnancy support services.
According to the police department, demonstrators protested peacefully in front of City Hall, which was located across from the Florida Capitol.
City officials had been working with protest organizers for more than a week, though due to the size of the crowd and protestors’ desire for overnight camping, demonstrators were told on Friday that the city would be unable to accommodate them, police said.
As such, upon the group’s arrival to City Hall on Monday, protestors were told they were allowed to use the property only during normal business hours, police added.
In a release, the department stated that protestors were given multiple warnings throughout the day and acknowledged they were required to leave the property by sundown.
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While a majority of the crowd left as instructed, 11 members of the protest refused to leave after sunset and were thus arrested, the release shows.
Among those arrested included Nikki Fried, the chair of the Florida Democratic Party, and Lauren Book, the minority leader of the Florida Senate, according to the Leon County Sheriff’s Office.
She held a news conference Tuesday, alongside a number of protestors, from groups like Occupy Tally, who were also arrested fighting for women’s rights.
“Thank you to all of you. The outpouring of support that we all got last night and this morning, all across the state of Florida, what I consistently heard all day today was, ‘Thank you for fighting for the women of our state,’” she said. “What this did was gave a jolt of energy to the base here in the state of Florida to show that we are standing up, that we are fighting back, that we are not going to back down.”
But she also said the result was twofold as Fried learned that “people are resolved to this is how our reality is going to be.” Fried added that this isn’t a political issue, but a human rights issue that doesn’t just impact women, but those identifying as transgender and non-binary as well.
“I am telling everybody in our state, you have the power to make a difference. You have the power to make sure that you’re registering to vote, that you’re turning out to vote,” Fried said a day after her arrest. “We’re gonna make sure that the entire state of Florida and the entire country and the entire world understands what is happening here in our state.”
Law enforcement posted a release encouraging peaceful protesting, which Fried and others at the news conference Tuesday said they did the night prior.
“(Tallahassee Police Department) encourages individuals exercising their First Amendment right of peaceful assembly to do so in accordance with the law,” the release shows. “TPD supports non-disruptive demonstrations and works diligently to protect and uphold the rights of citizens every day.”
While Fried said she and the other protestors were prepared for what could happen as a result of their actions, the arrests were still shocking.
" I think there was a shock around all of us as we’re sitting peacefully and holding hands in a community that the officers would have actually arrested us,” Fried said.
Those arrested face charges of trespassing after warning.
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