But now that the protesters led by former FAMU Student Body
President Phillip Agnew have shown that they have the discipline and passion to
go the distance, Scott’s political operatives and other opponents are taking the gloves off.
Blaming the protesters for creating a bigger security bill
at the Florida capitol for taxpayers
On Tuesday, July 23 the Florida Department of Law
Enforcement (FDLE), which reports to Scott, released a memo entitled “Estimated
Costs and Incident Reports for Capitol Protests.” It says that the seven-day
sit-in has cost the state a total of $97,970.88.
“We are paying, or will be paying overtime because of the
protests. And yes officers are working longer hours to make sure we have proper
coverage,” said FDLE spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger.
Plessinger added that the Capitol Police force (a division
of the FDLE) has doubled the number officers it regularly has in each of its shifts.
State Rep. Alan Williams, a FAMU alumnus and chair of the
Florida Legislative Black Caucus, responded by saying that the Dream Defenders
pay taxes, too.
“What’s the cost of life worth? And when you have young folks like Jordan Davis and Trayvon Martin who died, what’s the value on their life? These folks that are sitting in the governor’s office right now, they are tax paying citizens of the state of Florida,” Williams told reporters.
Mentioning Williams’ name in FDLE incident reports simply for
providing food to protesters
In what looks like an attempt to embarrass Williams, the
FDLE mentioned him twice in its incident reports for no reason other than his
decision to enter the capitol and bring food to the protesters.
The FDLE wrote the following in its Saturday, July 20 incident report: “Representative Williams is providing food to
the group on plaza level through Sunday.” The Sunday, July 21 incident report
said: “Representative Williams delivered food.”
Members of the Florida Legislature have the authority to
access the capitol building 24-hours a day. The FDLE’s decision to include
Williams’ entry into his own workplace as part of an “incident report” is very suspicious.
Williams is not backing down and says he will continue to
support the First Amendment rights of the protesters.
“I will continue to do that as long as I'm in town and I am
available,” Williams said.
Searching for ways to fine the Dream Defenders
According to the Tampa Bay Times: “On Monday, the group
received a letter from the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
saying it had not filed the necessary paperwork to solicit cash and in-kind
donations. It may be facing fines. It submitted the application Tuesday, Dream
Defenders legal and policy director Ahmad Abuznaid said.”
Alleging that the Dream Defenders are a front for Florida
labor unions
The Tampa Bay Times reported that: “The [Dream Defenders
organization] has also had to deflect allegations that it is pursuing a union-driven
agenda. The property services workers' union 32BJ SEIU pays Agnew $29,000
annually to run the Dream Defenders.”
Agnew said that the Dream Defenders aren’t being controlled by
union leadership.
“To say that some union is masterminding us is an insult,”
Agnew said. “Give a little more credit to the youth of Florida.”
This round of attacks is just the beginning. The Dream
Defenders should expect the attempts to discredit and harass them to grow even
more intense as they continue to demand a special legislative session to repeal
Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law.