A Democrat running for state office in Florida took offense to Gov. Ron DeSantis describing Supreme Court pro-choice protesters as partaking in an "insurrection."
DeSantis, R-Fla., possibly invoked the term because many Democrats and anti-Trumpers have used it to describe what took place at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
"On the issue of peaceful protests, the First Amendment is clear," attorney Daniel Uhlfelder, who's running for attorney general, said in a release, Florida Politics reported.
"Ron DeSantis' absurd labeling of peaceful protest as insurrection is a dangerous betrayal of free speech. Not only is free speech protected by the Constitution, it is a core value of our American democracy."
Chief Justice John Roberts early last month confirmed the authenticity of a leaked draft opinion suggesting the Supreme Court may be poised to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade case that legalized abortion nationwide.
Since news of the leak occurred, pro-choice protests have increased, especially in Washington, D.C.
An abortion rights protester last week chained himself to a perimeter fence set up outside the U.S. Supreme Court to protest its expected decision overturning Roe v Wade.
Two days later, a California man upset about mass shootings and the looming Supreme Court rulings on abortion and gun rights was charged with attempting to murder conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
DeSantis, during a Monday interview on Fox News, scolded the protesters.
"You don’t just get to have a mob descend on Supreme Court Justices' houses or try to impede operations of government because there may be a decision you don’t like," DeSantis said on Fox News.
"That would be considered an insurrection to stop a court or the operations of government because there may be a decision you don’t like. That would be considered an insurrection to stop a court from functioning."
DeSantis condemned the leaked opinion when it was first reported, calling the released document a "judicial insurrection."
"You want to talk about an insurrection, that’s a judicial insurrection, to be taking that out and trying to kneecap a potential majority through kind of extra-constitutional means," DeSantis said, Florida Politics reported.
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