Democrats Condemn Arrest of Pro-Choice Protester With Megaphone, Silent on Pro-Life Protester Arrested Days Prior With Megaphone
July 7, 2022 Updated 2:17 P.M. ET
LAKELAND (FLV) – Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried criticized the arrest of a 13-year-old protesting the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and blamed Gov. Ron DeSantis.
However, Fried was silent on the arrest of a pro-life protester who also had a megaphone days prior in the same city.
Fried is a democrat candidate for governor.
“I’m posting this with her mother’s permission because I need everyone to see what Ron DeSantis’ Florida really looks like,” Fried said. “13 year olds being arrested for protesting for their own freedom.”
The video showed Lakeland police escorting a young girl into a police car and removing her megaphone.
Facebook posts from what appears to be the teen’s mother said she was arrested for a noise ordinance violation and faces a 2nd degree misdemeanor charge. Lakeland Police did not provide the affidavit because it is a juvenile record.
On June 24, Lakeland Police also arrested Quentin Deckard as he spoke into a megaphone outside the Lakeland Women’s Health Center, which is an abortion provider.
The affidavit said Deckard was standing on a ladder outside the fence speaking on a megaphone towards people walking into the women’s center. Police said Deckard’s voice disturbed the “quiet, peace and repose of a reasonable person at the business.”
The officer said he had probable cause to charge Deckard with Breach of Peace and a violation of the city noise ordinance. The same charge 13-year-old’s mother said her daughter faces.
Lakeland Police Department spokesperson Robin Tillet provided a statement regarding recent protests after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
“Since the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling, we’ve had hundreds of people peacefully assemble across our City with few isolated incidents. Officers are in attendance to assure a safe and secure environment for those exercising their rights while doing so in accordance with Florida state statutes and city ordinances,” Tillett said.
Nikki Fried’s post did not include any context of why the teenager was arrested. It’s the latest attempt from Democrats attack the Governor with short, out of context videos on social media.
Video Showing Girl Arrested at Abortion Protest Lacks Context, Another Misleading Attack Against DeSantis
For example, civil rights attorney Ben Crump posted a similar out of context video showing Democrat activist Ben Frazier being arrested for trespassing before a Governor DeSantis news conference.
However, Crump failed to post video of officers and staff members warning Crump multiple times to leave the private press conference or else he would be charged with trespassing.
Other liberal activists have recorded videos being kicked out of DeSantis press conferences while claiming it is because the governor does not want to take “tough questions.”
However, these videos do not provide context to the “disrupting” pattern of behavior the activists have portrayed at these events leading to their removal.
