Nikki Fried, chair of the Florida Democrats, and Democrat state Senate Minority Leader Lauren Book were among 11 people arrested on Monday night during protests after Governor Ron DeSantis' new abortion legislation was passed by the state Senate.
Protests erupted outside Tallahassee's City Hall, police said, only hours after the state Senate voted in favor of proposed legislation that would ban abortion in most cases after six weeks. While abortion remains legal in Florida—thanks to recognition by the state's highest court of the right to abortion under the Florida Constitution—the Republican governor and lawmakers have been part of a nationwide GOP-led push for stricter legislation around the procedure at the state level.
The proposed six-week ban—SB300—would further restrict access to abortion in Florida, where a 15-week ban providing no exception for rape or incest is already in place. The 15-week ban was signed into law by DeSantis in April 2022 and went into effect in July, after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, ending 50 years of federal protection of abortion rights across the country.
Florida Democrats chair Nikki Fried (L) and Florida Democratic Senator Lauren Book (R). They were among 11 people arrested on Monday night for protesting against SB300, new legislation that would impose a six-week ban on abortion in the state.SAUL MARTINEZ/GETTY IMAGES; DON JUAN MOORE/GETTY IMAGES
NEWSWEEK NEWSLETTER SIGN-UP >
The law was one of the most controversial bans in the country in 2022, and the new legislation—which is expected to be approved by the state House and DeSantis in the coming weeks—appears to be just as divisive.
Fried and Book, who joined the peaceful protests on Monday night, were among the demonstrators arrested by police after they had warned them that they couldn't be there after sundown. A statement by the Tallahassee Police Department (TPT) said that protests were only allowed during normal operating hours, but a group of demonstrators had expressed their wish to stay overnight. They were arrested for trespassing "after multiple warnings throughout the day."
According to a spokesperson for TPT, the 11 arrested were taken to a Leon County detention facility, The Washington Post reported.
A video shared on Twitter by Politico reporter Gary Fineout shows protesters—including Fried and Book—being arrested by police and carried away in handcuffs, while the other demonstrators shouted "shame" to the officers and messages of support to those arrested.
NEWSWEEK SUBSCRIPTION OFFERS >
Fried, who attended the protest wearing a T-shirt that read "Just f****** vote", shared videos and images of her arrest on her Twitter, saying: I'm out. And not ever backing down. Just f****** vote @FlaDems!!!"The protest was relatively small, with only about 15 activists remaining on the site after sundown, at 8 p.m., sitting in a circle, according to photojournalist Alicia Devine. Book joined the protest outside Tallahassee's City Hall after having