On the 19th of April, the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) held a march for abortion rights, for transgender rights, and against all of the DeSantis agenda though the streets of downtown St Petersburg, FL. The march started and ended at City Hall.
With so many protests and “incidents” in Florida in the past two weeks, this is starting to feel like Trump’s first two weeks in office back in 2017.
As the FL House of Misrepresentatives “debated” genocidal anti-trans legislation, they were bombarded by underwear dropped or thrown from the gallery. It appears that the attempted preview of removing trans kids from their families immediately afterwards was vengeance for this humiliation.
Video has been released on tiktok and twitter of the separation of activists trans kids from their parents in the Florida state house as a slew of genocidal anti-trans bills were “debated.”
Fortunately they have all been released (after a very dangerous situation) , but the author of this video is advising parents of trans kids in states like Texas, Missouri and soon FL that sic CPS on parents of trans kids to STOP taking them into any government buildings of any kind, and immediately implement plans to escape the offending jurisdictions before their kids can be rounded up
With only two enemies NOT in police uniforms visibly guarding the doors to the galleries, multiple posters on Twitter have remarked that the parents should have formed a group with all available backup, charged the doors, and retrieved their kids.
On April 18, Occupy Tally (Tallahassee) was kettled inside the FL State House while protesting a string of anti-trans bills including one to allow CPS to remove trans kids from their families.
Two known arrests, only one known for sure to be out as this is published. Others escorted out, several banned from the FL Capitol.
It is alleged that some of the trans kids were detained due to underwear thrown from the galleries during the “debate.
As this is being reported, DeSantis has signed the expansion of “Don’t Say Gay” through 12th grade in FL public schools.
Media is being held back for now given the situation
On the 18th of April, a Sarasota County, FL School Board meeting drew a huge protest against book bans, the anti-trans hate coming from all but one Board member, and a proposed takeover of New College at DeSantis’ urging by an outfit called Vermillion, which is tied to far-right Hillsborough College.
Thomas, the sole friendly member of the school board, stated at the rally that “church activity” has no place in government. Protesters explicitly called the anti-trans, book banning/burning members of the School Board Fascists and even Nazis. It is historically accurate (as shown in the video here) that the Nazis were prolific book burners.
On the 18th of April, genocidal anti-Trans Fl Governor DeSantis showed up in DC at the Heritage Foundation. This while trans kids were arrested in the FL State House trying to stop a bill to allow CPS to take them from their familes and he just signed a 6 week abortion ban. Furious protesters forced him to slink in via the back door-and surprised him there when he left.
Meanwhile concerning FL, DeSantis (known also as “DeSatan” and “DeathSantis” to many) threatened on the same day to build a new prison next to Disney in response to Disney having neutralized his Reedy Creek board takeover. His agenda of hate, family separation, and genocide against trans people has become so unpopular that GOP donors and Congressmen are starting to flock to Trump, even though Trump has been indicted in NYC.
Trump is plenty dangerous too: he won’t win the 2025 election but is certain to dispute his loss and go for another bite at the J6 apple. This time, he will have all those “constitutional sheriffs” behind him organizing the far right on a county by county basis. In states like FL, TX, MO, TN and many others, these thugs will have plenty of practice enforcing drag bans, bathroom bills, pushing school boards to ban or even burn books. There are even laws going into effect to use so-called “Child Protective Services” to forcibly remove trans kids from their parents presumably for placement with fundamentalist Christian families for “re-education.” This will cause thousands of deaths. Already in Tennesee, many trans folks are sheltering in place due to a drag ban that as a “cross-dressing” law exposes them to arrest on sight. Fears of mass suicide are mounting as this siege of TN’s LGBTQ community drags on.
In this environment of pogrom and looming death, Ron DeSantis, the Hitler of Florida, dared to show his face in Washington DC. Protesters were able to confront his motorcade and disrupt his event with noise from outside, and MPD did not escalate to the extend many Florida police departments would have. No kettle in the State House (like in Tallahasse), no holds without bond, no cash bail requirements, none of it. DC is not a place Ron DeSantis can feel at home, nor should it be.
Since the passage of Florida’s 6 week abortion ban, Florida residents have been protesting like the protests in DC the first week or two after Trump took office.From Tallahassee to W Palm Beach protests have erupted. One of these protests was a march through the waterfront in St Petersburg, FL.
With DeathSantis’s abortion ban going into effect in July, he’s now moving fast with bills to remove trans kids from their families (using CPS), ban drag shows and possibly even Pride festivals, ban gender affirming care for youth and make it unaffordable for adults and so much more bigotry and hate.
There are reports that trans folks in TN are sheltering in place, fearing arrest on-sight as a result of that state’s “drag ban” that criminalizes wearing clothing that does not match your birth-assigned (guessed?) gender. There are even fears this could lead to widespread or mass suicide. In Florida, there is word DeSantis wants to define as many LGBTQ matters as possible as “sex offenses,” while also striving to apply the death penalty to sex offenses. This is while Old Testament-heavy preachers are thundering from pulpits about executing LGBTQ folks as the Bible claims was done in Old Testamant times.
I seriously doubt anyone in the LGBTQ community is going submit to sex offender registration for wearing drag or attending Gay clubs (much less execution for same gender sex) without all-out, no holds barred resistance.
On the 16th of April, the so-called “Freedom Corner” protest at the DC Jail for J6 detainees (Proud Boys, 3%er’s, Oath Keepers etc) drew counterprotesters. MAGA meatheads are simply NOT welcome in DC.
It is very rare for anyone held in a jail to attract HOSTILE noise demos, but that’s how unpopular those who fought to reinstall Trump by armed force are in DC
This sign was seen at Occupy Tallahassee, warning parents to obtain “morning after” pills for their teenagers NOW given the risk of a ban
On the 15th of March, abortion rights protesters showed up at the Supreme Court. SCOTUS has put a short-term injunction on enforcing a Texas judge’s order to the FDA to revoke approval of one of the two drugs used for medical (as opposed to surgical) abortions. Abortion rights activists are demanding SCOTUS permanently stop Federal judges from second-guessing the FDA and injecting politics into the drug approval process.
Counterdemonstrations showed up, notably fetus-stealing Lauren Handy from PAAU (so-called “Progressive” anti-abortion uprising).
