Last Updated: 7:53 p.m.
Floridians in more than 70 cities throughout the state plan to join nationwide demonstrations to protest the Trump administration on Saturday, prompting Attorney General James Uthmeier and other law enforcement officials to say they won’t hesitate to quash protests.
The protests, part of the “No Kings” movement, are set to take place the same day as the multimillion-dollar military parade in D.C. and President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday. [Four rallies are scheduled in Palm Coast and Flagler Beach: Two are scheduled at 9:30 a.m.–on the Palm Coast Parkway bridge over I-95, and at State Road A1A and State Road 100 in Flagler Beach. Two more are scheduled at 11 a.m.–at Palm Coast Parkway and Old Kings Road, and at State Road 100 and Belle Terre Parkway.]
Uthmeier, who along Gov. Ron DeSantis has been criticizing the protests in downtown Los Angeles against Trump’s immigration crackdown, said he wanted to put the public on notice before Saturday. Trump sent the California National Guard into the city despite opposition from Gov. Gavin Newsom, and the California governor rejected DeSantis’ offer to send the Florida State Guard, according to the Miami Herald.
“If you want to wreak havoc and destruction in Florida, we have enhanced penalties to ensure you will do time, so we do not tolerate rioting. As groups talk about assembling over the weekend, we haven’t seen much of that in Florida,” Uthmeier said during a press conference in Brevard County.
However, protests are planned in all the state’s major cities, including in front of the Florida Historic Capitol in Tallahassee, according to the movement’s website.
The messaging from Uthmeier reflects Trump’s warnings that those who protest the D.C. parade will be met with “very heavy force.”
“If you resist lawful orders, you’re going to jail. Let me be very clear about that: if you block an intersection or a roadway in Brevard County, you are going to jail,” said Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey. “If you flee arrest, you’re going to go to jail tired because we are going to run you down and put you in jail. … If you throw a brick, a fire bomb, or point a gun at one of our deputies, we will be notifying your family where to collect your remains at because we will kill you.”
Uthmeier also announced that Florida Highway Patrol troopers would start patrolling the houses of federal immigration officials who believe they have been doxxed.
–Jackie Llanos, Florida Phoenix
