Vehicle ramming, worryingly enough, is starting to become more common these days, especially against politically-motivated crowds. Now, it appears Florida is about to make vehicle or car ramming even more common — with its Governor, Ron DeSantis, re-stating that Floridian car owners have the right to run over protesters if they feel like they’re in danger.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently sat down in an interview with The Rubin Report, where he talked to the channel’s titular Dave Rubin about Florida’s policies on riots and protests. ICE protests, in particular, have been erupting all over the other US states, mainly in California. DeSantis, however, plans to be a lot less tolerant of protesters and rioters and has set a policy in place in Florida allowing vehicle owners to ram protesters. Here’s the exact quote:
“We also have a policy that if you’re driving on one of those streets, and a mob comes in, surrounds your vehicle, and threatens you, you have a right to flee for your safety.
And so if you drive off and you hit one of these people, that’s their fault for impinging on you. You don’t have to just sit there and be a sitting duck and let the mob grab you out of your car and drag you through the streets,” states Gov. Ron DeSantis in The Rubin Report
This policy is specifically called the “anti-riot” law, a.k.a. “Combatting Violence, Disorder, and Looting, and Law Enforcement Protection Act,” and it was signed and passed in 2021 by none other than DeSantis himself. The act seeks to remove vehicle driver liability for hitting protesters with their car.
The Florida Governor felt the need to reiterate that this vehicle ramming practice falls under self-defense in light of recent incidents where vehicles have been weaponized against protesters. DeSantis goes on to criticize California’s more “lenient” policies and laws towards protesters and even voices his disagreement towards the ICE protesters, stating that the state and politicians shouldn’t side with them.
Conservatives & Republicans Favor the Policy
Such a statement from Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida has sparked a survey online in which many people voted in favor that every state should have the same policy. The ongoing survey has a sample size of around 12,000 voters, where more than 85 percent say that car owners should be allowed to run over protesters.
One of the most recent incidents of attempted car ramming against protesters took place in Chicago, Illinois, during an ICE protest. A red vehicle, presumably belonging to another civilian, sped through a crowd with no regard for whomever was getting hit. This incident also paints a problem with the Florida car ramming policy since the vehicle could easily cause too much collateral damage and also run through innocent protesters or bystanders.
Another problem also arises with this policy, especially if a car driver feels threatened, even if there’s no actual threat. Some towns in the US have even considered car ramming or vehicle ramming as a terror attack, and also looked at the possibility of such incidents happening in a parade. Car ramming fears have since led to the cancellation of their 4th of July celebration.
Meanwhile, other people online have chimed in on the matter and given their own statements regarding Florida’s policy for car ramming against protesters:
“Sweet, so next time a nazi group wants to fly their flags and have their little march on a bridge, its time to play gta? Oh wait, not those protestors. That’s probably protected speech still,” says ITividar
“I am curious to see how quickly ‘the right to flee for your safety’ gets twisted and someone needlessly gets hurt or worse,” suggests Jewarlaho.
