DeSantis v. Dream Defenders
On a certified question from the Eleventh Circuit arising out of a injunction suit challenging Florida's 2021 riot statute, the Florida Supreme Court held that section 870.01(2) does not reach a person who attends a protest at which violence erupts but who neither engages in, nor intends to assist others in engaging in, violent and disorderly conduct. The Court defined "violent public disturbance" by reference to the common-law crime of riot and held the State must prove the defendant acted with a common intent to assist others in violent and disorderly conduct. The Court also found the statute unambiguous, rejecting the federal district court's contrary reading.
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