Florida prepared for protests, sheriffs warn rioters will be arrested

(The Center Square) – Florida is prepared for anti-immigration enforcement protests being organized by a coalition of dozens of groups called No Kings, who also oppose President Donald Trump’s planned 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army in Washington, D.C., on Saturday.

Gov. Ron DeSantis said Florida law enforcement officers are prepared at every level. Florida sheriffs have also explained their zero tolerance policy, including their willingness to arrest and even shoot rioters.

After anti-police riots broke out across the country in 2020, the Florida legislature in 2021 passed anti-rioting legislation that DeSantis signed into law. It increased penalties for rioters, looters and those blocking traffic. Despite critics saying it would quell free speech and peaceful protests, protests have occurred but rioting in Florida hasn’t, DeSantis says.

Local law enforcement, including police and sheriffs, state police, state agencies and the Florida National Guard are prepared to quell any violence that may erupt at more than 75 protests organized in Florida on Saturday. The protesting coalition argues it’s peacefully protesting immigration enforcement policies and is connected to the Democratic Party, climate change activists and some claiming to oppose fascism, The Center Square reported.

Florida has dealt with protestors who turned violent “pretty effectively in the past,” DeSantis told Fox News. In addition to protestors looting and setting government property on fire, they also take over streets in blue states, he said.

In Florida, those who “don’t have a permit to take over streets” are arrested, DeSantis said. “The Hamas people tried to do this” roughly a year ago during anti-Israel protests after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attacks against Israel. “They tried it in Miami. They were kicked off the road in 13 minutes. They tried it in Central Florida. Our highway patrol got them out of there in 11 minutes. The inmates are not going to run the asylum,” he said.

DeSantis said that Floridians who are blocked from driving on streets by protestors have the authority to run them over.

“Florida has a zero-tolerance policy” for rioters, DeSantis said, saying, “no one has the right to commandeer streets. We also have a policy that if you’re driving on one of those streets and a mob comes and surrounds your vehicle and threatens you, you have a right to flee for your safety. If you drive off and you hit one of these people, that’s their fault for impinging on you. You don’t have to sit there and just be a sitting duck and let the mob grab you out of your car and drag you through the streets. You have a right to defend yourself in Florida.”

In a news conference, Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey warned protestors saying, “Peaceful protests are part of our democracy. If you let it turn violent,” like in California, with “buildings being burned down, police cars being bricked, guns pointed at them, bricks thrown out” that won’t happen in Brevard County.

“If you resist lawful orders, you’re going to jail,” he said. “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. If you try to mob rule a car in Brevard County, you’re most likely going to get run over. If you spit on us, you’re going to the hospital. 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.

“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 graveyard dead. We’re not going to play. This has got to stop.”

LET ME BREAK IT DOWN FOR YOU…Sheriff Wayne Ivey #brevardsheriff #lawandorder #PeacefulProtest #antiriotstate pic.twitter.com/wo3un8cisT— BrevardSheriff (@BrevardSheriff) June 13, 2025

Ivey’s long-time friend and colleague, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, has made similar warnings. In 2021, as anti-police rioters took to the streets burning and looting in major Democratic cities largely characterized by the media as peaceful protests, Judd said that wouldn’t happen in Florida.

He held a press conference explaining the difference between peaceful protests and riots, holding up photographs of different events contrasting them.

“We can tell the difference,” he said. If people try to loot in Florida, the next thing they try to steal will be off a food tray at the county jail because they will be arrested and go to jail. “That’s a guarantee. And we’re going to enjoy taking you down there,” he said.

“I truly believe in our God-given right and our constitutional right to speak openly and freely to address our government, that’s important. We listen every day. But I’ve also watched across this country when law enforcement officers who put their life on the line were told to stand down, to allow them to burn the precinct, allow them to rob and loot.”

“The men and women of law enforcement who write you a ticket today will stand in front of a bullet for you tonight,” Judd continued. “The men and women of law enforcement who you throw a brick at today, we’ll jump into a river to keep you from drowning tonight. I want you to remember that, we’re not the enemies. We’re your friend … when you don’t have any friends. We’re the ones that make a positive difference in your life when nobody else will help. We’re the ones that every time you dial 911, we respond.”