“The fight should be taken across the street:” Mayor responds to Monday night arrests

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) - All protesters have been released after a protest Monday night at City Hall ended in 11 arrests.

The protest was in response to the Florida Senate passing a six-week abortion ban bill.

Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried and Florida Senate Minority Leader Lauren Book were among those arrested. Protesters were charged with trespassing. Some are now asking for those charges to be dropped. The group held a press conference outside the Leon County courthouse Tuesday afternoon.

“I am one of the protesters that was arrested last night while sitting at City Hall,” said one speaker, Kyle Moore. “And I want to tell you what happened while we were there. We were peaceful. We were together. We were a community. We sat there sitting in a circle, holding hands and singing.”

Fried also spoke at the press conference.

“What this did was it gave a jolt of energy to the base here in the state of Florida, to show that we are standing up, that we are fighting back, that we are not going to back down,” she said.

On Tuesday, police put barricades outside city hall. After 5 p.m., they added additional barricades to block all entrances to the building.

City leaders said they spoke with organizers in the days leading up to Monday’s protest, letting them know they were not allowed to be at city hall after sunset.

Mayor Dailey told WCTV protesters were violating a long-standing city ordinance that prohibits people from staying in city parks after dark. Most people don’t consider city hall a park, but the city argues the space in front and on the side of the building is maintained by Parks and Recreation and falls under their park rules.

“I’m disappointed in the political stunt of yesterday,” Dailey said. “I mean, we should be talking about the legislation that was passed on the floor of the Florida Senate and the fact that we’re all on the same page with this. I mean, I personally am pro-choice.”

Protesters contend they were being peaceful and should have never been arrested. Mayor Dailey said they’re focusing on the wrong entity.

“The fight is at the state capitol,” Dailey said. “The fight is with the legislature and with the governor. It is not with city hall. The fight should be taken across the street to the capitol complex.”

Under new rules, people who want to protest at the capitol complex need to get a state agency or a lawmaker to sponsor their gatherings. A spokesperson with the Department of Management Services told WCTV groups can organize without a sponsor, but they must check the calendar to make sure space is not already reserved.

Organizers said they didn’t try to get access to the capitol complex because they believed they would be kicked out. They said they felt city hall was a safer, more realistic place to make their voices heard.

WCTV is continuing to update this story as it progresses.