A Florida sheriff has issued a stark warning to anyone planning to protest against immigration raids in his state.
Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey was speaking at a press conference ahead of roughly 1,800 protests planned across the US today (June 14).
Some of those are in opposition to the Washington military parade that marks the 250th anniversary of the US Army and coincides with president Donald Trump’s 79th birthday, with others protesting immigration raids.
Protests in Los Angeles, California are continuing for an eighth day, and they have spread across the country with riot police sent to at least five more cities.
California governor Gavin Newsom filed an emergency motion to try and stop Trump sending in the National Guard and Marines, saying their presence would encourage civil unrest and increase tensions.
Meanwhile, Trump likened the protests to a ‘foreign invasion’.
But Sheriff Ivey has made his stance on rioting and protests in his state and elsewhere very clear.
‘You’re watching what’s taking place out there. You’re seeing police officers that are being attacked, being spit on, being being put in harm’s way just for doing their jobs,’ he said at the press conference on Thursday.
‘You’re seeing ICE agents that are being targeted for doing their jobs and you’re seeing obstructionists that are doing all of this, standing in the way of law and order.
‘Not here, not in the state of Florida.
‘If (you) throw a brick, a firebomb, 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, graveyard dead.
‘We’re not going to play. This has got to stop.’
Florida’s attorney general James Uthmeier added ‘we do not allow rioting in the state of Florida’ to applause from the audience.
It’s been about five years since an anti-riot act, the Combating Public Disorder Act, was passed in the state.
The act came into force following thousands of Black Lives Matter protests which swept the US after the death of George Floyd in 2020.
It increased penalties for anyone taking part in a violent public disturbance and gave law enforcement more leeway in dealing with violent protesters.
The bill also allows people to sue local governments for damages caused during a riot or unlawful assembly, creates new crimes that include mob intimidation and inciting a riot, and means anyone who tears down a memorial to a historical figure could face up to 15 years in prison.
Sheriff Ivey continued: ‘If you resist lawful orders, you’re going to jail. Let me be very clear about that.
‘If you block an intersection or roadway in Brevard County, you are going to jail. 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 try to mob rule a car in Brevard County, gathering around it, refusing to let the driver leave, in our county you’re most likely going to get run over and dragged across the street.
‘If you spit on us, you’re going to the hospital and in jail. If you hit one of us, you’re going to the hospital and jail and most likely get bitten by one of our big, beautiful dogs that we have here.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
