Lydia Nusbaum contributed to this report.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (FLV) – On Friday, State Attorney Jack Campbell dismissed all charges against Nikki Fried, the chair of the Florida Democratic Party, Senate Democratic Minority Leader Lauren Book and other demonstrators who participated in a protest outside Tallahassee City Hall in April.
Campbell emphasized that harsher penalties will be pursued in cases where future protesters who are arrested engage in resistance or assault against law enforcement, or if the existing consequences are deemed inadequate.
In April, a group of individuals, which included Fried and Book, staged a protest against a six-week abortion ban in Florida.
The Tallahassee Police Department stated that the protesters received several warnings throughout the day, informing them that those who refused to vacate the premises by sundown would face arrest.
According to the department, the majority of the crowd complied and left the premises after sunset, but 11 individuals, including the senate minority leader and the chair of Florida’s democratic party, declined to depart despite repeated requests to do so.
The 11 protesters who refused police orders to leave the premises were arrested by officers that evening.
Video shows Fried and Book being put in handcuffs after sitting in a circle with protestors.
Prior to the protest, organizers with #OccupyTally said the news media is invited Monday “to witness any arrests that may happen.”
Following the arrests, the OccupyTally Twitter account said protesters “knew what was going to happen.”
“We knew what was going to happen. We made conscious choices to engage in civil disobedience to protect our rights to bodily autonomy,” the account said.
Florida Democrats previously said on Twitter, “Florida Democratic Party Chair @NikkiFried was arrested in Tallahassee for defending a woman’s right to choose.”
“Florida Democrats will not back down in our defense of abortion rights. Our Chair made that clear tonight,” they said.
