TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed much needed legislation Monday making it a crime to picket or protest outside an individual’s home.
Florida House Bill 1571 received the governor’s signature on Monday. It will become enforceable October 1, 2022, the Daily Wire reported.
The law prohibits protests outside a person’s home. According to the legislation, law enforcement personnel must issue a warning to protesters to disperse. However, if they refuse to comply, they are subject to arrest.
Violations of the new law will be prosecuted and punished as second-degree misdemeanors.
The text of the law reads:
It is unlawful for a person to picket or protest before or about the dwelling of any person with the intent to harass or disturb that person in his or her dwelling. …
Before a person may be arrested for a violation of this section, a law enforcement officer… or a local, state, federal, or military law enforcement agency must go as near to the person as may be done with safety and shall command any person picketing or protesting before or about the dwelling of a person to immediately and peaceably disperse. If any such person does not thereupon immediately and peaceably disperse, he or she may be arrested for a violation of this section.
Gov. DeSantis made reference to recent protests outside the homes of Supreme Court justices — which is illegal under the circumstances — when announcing the new law.
“Sending unruly mobs to private residences, like we have seen with the angry crowds in front of the homes of Supreme Court justices, is inappropriate,” DeSantis said in a statement Tuesday. “This bill will provide protection to those living in residential communities and I am glad to sign it into law.”
