Politics & Government
Abortion Rights Activists Call For Trespassing Charges To Be Dropped Following Monday Arrests
About a dozen abortion rights activists arrested for alleged trespassing at Tallahassee's City Hall are calling for charges to be dropped.
April 4, 2023
About a dozen abortion rights activists arrested Monday evening for alleged trespassing at Tallahassee’s City Hall are calling for charges to be dropped, according to a press conference Tuesday near the state Capitol building.
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Among those arrested include Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried, who spoke at the Tuesday press conference, and Senate Democratic Leader Lauren Book, who was not in attendance.
“There was a shock around all of us as we were sitting peacefully and holding hands in community that the officers would actually arrest us. It was a shock — but we were all prepared because at the end of the day, good trouble is sometimes necessary,” Fried told the crowd of about 30 people.
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The Tallahassee Police Department said the protestors were told multiple times to leave before arrests were made, according to a press release from the agency Monday.
The arrests culminated Monday evening, following a day of tension over the Florida Senate approving a 6-week abortion ban — a significant reduction from the 15-week ban Florida has now.
Fried told people at the press conference that those arrested have attorneys and “will be making sure that we make it through this legal process as swiftly as possible.”
Meanwhile, there’s ongoing turmoil regarding abortion access in Florida and protests across the country.
Just Monday, in the Florida Seante chambers, there were several disruptions and outbursts from members of the public who opposed the restrictive abortion ban.
In Tennessee, House GOP lawmakers are trying to expel three Democratic members who led a protest on the state’s House floor, according to the Tennessee Lookout, an affiliate of the States Newsroom.
The protest on the Tennessee House Floor was calling for tighter gun laws in the state.
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