Month: April 2021

On Monday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law a controversial bill that increases penalties for crimes committed during a “riot,” which civil rights groups have denounced as unconstitutional. DeSantis at the bill’s signing: “We wanted to make sure that we were able to protect the people of our great state, people’s businesses and property against any type of mob activity or violent assemblies.”

The bill, effective immediately, would allow authorities to hold protesters arrested for misdemeanors without bail until their first court appearance. The law also establishes new felonies for organizing or participating in a violent demonstration and offers “civil legal immunity to people who drive through protesters blocking a road” and creates protections for Confederate monuments and other historical memorials, and makes it more difficult for local governments to decrease their law enforcement budgets.

Opponents of the bill say it curtails citizens’ First Amendment rights to peaceful assembly and free speech. Micah Kubic, the executive director of ACLU of Florida, previously called the bill “racist, unconstitutional, and anti-democratic.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signs ‘anti-riot’ bill into law

Via www.upi.com

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an “anti-riot” bill into law Monday that increases penalties…

04/19/2021 6:12 PM

 

Editorial credit: YES Market Media / Shutterstock.com

A medical examiner ruled on Monday that the U.S. Capitol Police officer who died a day after supporters of former President Donald Trump rioted had succumbed to fatal strokes. The District of Columbia’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined the officer, Brian Sicknick, died of natural causes in the hours after the attack on the Capitol rather than as a direct result of injuries inflicted by Trump’s supporters during the Jan. 6 siege.

D.C. Medical Examiner Francisco Diaz said an autopsy conducted on Sicknick revealed he had suffered two strokes caused by a clot in an artery that supplies blood to the brain. Diaz also said he found no evidence that the 42-year-old officer died from having chemical irritants sprayed on him by protesters, or from any other internal or external injuries. Capitol Police said Sicknick collapsed upon his return to headquarters after the riot and died at a hospital about eight hours later. Julian Elie Khater, 32, of State College, Penn., and George Pierre Tanios, 39, of Morgantown, W.Va., are accused of using bear spray to attack Sicknick during the riot. They are charged with conspiracy to injure an officer, assault on a federal officer with a dangerous weapon, civil disorder as well as other charges.

Police officer died of ‘natural’ causes day after Capitol riot: Medical examiner

Via abcnews.go.com

U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick died of “natural” causes one day after a violent mob…

04/19/2021 6:55 PM

 

Editorial credit: lev radin / Shutterstock.com