Ban on protests in front of properties signed by Gov. DeSantis

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Anyone who protests in entrance of a personal residence in Florida can face jail time and fines under a invoice Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Monday.

The laws makes it a second-degree misdemeanor to protest in a way that is geared toward deliberately harassing or disturbing somebody in their house. Violators face 60 days in jail and fines of as much as $500.

Protesters can only be arrested after ignoring regulation enforcement’s orders to disperse, however.

The governor stated the new legislation will prevent protests in Florida like those waged by abortion rights protesters in front of U.S. Supreme Court docket justices’ properties in Virginia.

“Sending unruly mobs to non-public residences, like we now have seen with the indignant crowds in entrance of the properties of Supreme Court justices, is inappropriate,” DeSantis said in an e mail to news agencies. “This bill will present protection to those residing in residential communities and I'm glad to signal it into law.”

Some Democrats opposed the invoice, arguing it infringes on folks’s First Amendment rights to free speech.

The regulation is scheduled to take impact Oct. 1.