Inmate's mother and her information table fall victim to Florida Capitol speech 'crackdown'

A Capitol crackdown on speech has begun. Groups wanting space to inform the public and lawmakers about state laws or legislative proposals must get an official sponsor "to demonstrate" at the Florida Capitol – and must align with a state agency's mission.

That means lawmakers won’t have to walk past a table set up by family members of inmates who are serving time under Florida's "Two Strikes" law next week when they enter the Capitol for a 60-day session of lawmaking.

Florida PRR Family United, a criminal justice reform group and Capitol mainstay in recent years, is not in compliance with the new speech rules that went into effect Wednesday.

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The group seeks to change the Prisoner Releasee Reoffender Act – better known as the two-strike law, which mandates a life sentence for anyone convicted of a felony committed within three years of being released from prison. More than 2,200 inmates are serving PRR life sentences.

Under the new regulations, opposition to state policy makes it all but impossible for the group to comply with the new rules.

Not only does the Department of Management Services require anyone requesting space within the Capitol Complex to do so through a state agency, but the purpose for the request must also align with the agency’s mission.

The new rule also defines demonstration very broadly, as an activity intended to "bringing into public notice any issue or other matter."

Havana’s Janet Goree-Watson has been among the group of Family United volunteers who have staffed an informational table at the Capitol’s entranceway for the past four years. A mother of a PRR inmate, she said Family United has been silenced.

Goree-Watson received a notification from DMS that Family United’s request for space March through April had been denied.

“This is feeling more and more like we are living under a dictator,” said Goree-Watson, after reading the notification to a reporter.

“It basically says if your message is not in line with what the state agencies are doing or saying, then you're not going to be allowed to have a table. What state agency is going to go against the governor and sponsor somebody?” asked Goree-Watson.

When asked for a comment, DMS provided a link to the rules for reserving space at the Capitol.

The American Civil Liberties Union Florida said the new rule is an attempt to “chill speech."

Kara Gross, the group’s legislative director, said the new rule falls in line with the DeSantis administration “overarching theme” of censorship and suppression for those who “dare to disagree with the governor.”

The governor had the legislature repeal Walt Disney Company’s self-governing status for opposition to an education bill and has targeted school board supervisors and members for policy disagreements.

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DMS, as the state’s property manager, held a public hearing in December on a proposed new rule governing demonstrations and protests at the Capitol Complex, an eight-block district in downtown Tallahassee. Chief among the changes was allowing law enforcement more discretion to remove protesters from the Capitol building and charge them with trespassing.

The hearing drew protestors and advocates from across the state.

The ACLU cited procedural irregularities in DMS' release of the guidelines and requested a second public hearing. Instead, DMS published the rule in February with a March 1 effective date.

Gross said previous Republican and Democratic administrations abided by a tradition of the Capitol Complex as a free speech zone, where citizens expressed their views in support or opposition on a host of issues.

Affirmative-action supporters occupied the governor’s reception suite in 2000. The immigration group Dream Defenders held a month-long sit-in in the Rotunda in 2013.

Last session, abortion rights supporters were escorted out of the House gallery, and gun rights supporters demonstrated outside of House members offices.

Under the DeSantis administration there has also been demonstrations in opposition to his policies including immigration and voting rights.

“We are seeing a crackdown on the ability of the people to voice their opposition,” said Gross. “The Capitol used to be a place for the people now it is only for those whose speech is aligned with the governor.”

DMS did not respond to ACLU concerns, which leaves only an administrative challenge as the last option to preserve the Capitol’s free speech legacy.

“We are reviewing all of the options,” said Gross when asked if the ACLU will file a challenge. “I can't comment on potential litigation, other than to say that we are reviewing and monitoring as we speak.”

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: 'Demonstrations' at Florida Capitol now require a state agency sponsor