Lawmakers file bill to enhance criminal penalties in response to antisemitism

TALLAHASSEE (FLV) – A bill filed in the Florida House would implement enhanced criminal penalties for offenses classified and reported as hate crimes, which the co-sponsors said is in response to the rise in antisemitism in Florida.

Republican state Rep. Mike Caruso filed the bill along with co-sponsors: Republican state representatives Randy Fine, Rep. Peggy Gossett-Seidman, and Democrat state representatives David Silvers, Allison Tant and Michael Gottlieb.

“Antisemitic attacks have exploded in Florida. Over the last year, they went from rare to monthly to weekly to daily, and we’ve got to do something about it. And this is our plan,” Fine told Florida’s Voice.

Caruso says the bill will make the following third-degree felonies: any person distributing flyers involving materials that have religious or ethnic animus and are mass distributed, any person stalking or harassing or interfering with someone based on religious or ethnic heritages; willfully damaging a religious cemetery, a memorial, religious school or community/public/private property with a religious or ethnic animus; projecting an image of a religious or ethnic animus without written permission of a property owner, and any person who willfully interrupts or disrupts any religious school or service with a pretense of ethnic or religious animus.

He said in the last few weeks they have seen severe escalation including Jewish moms and their kids being threatened while walking to school, hateful banners being hung on the turnpike, hateful flyers being placed on cars in West Palm Beach, the projection of Nazi swastikas on a building in Jacksonville, and more acts.

“Silence in the face of evil is evil itself. And while we have felt it’s very important to speak strongly, after adult entertainers perform in front of children, in a drag queen story time which we should, or we felt very strongly about talking about the evil of critical race theory, which we should, we need to speak equally forcefully about this surge in antisemitism,” Fine said. “That’s what the Florida House did today.”

Fine said Speaker of the House Paul Renner is on board with the bill.

“This will be passed this session, and this bill will be signed into law,” Fine said confidently.

“So proud to prime co-sponsor HB 269 with @RepMikeCaruso and @VoteRandyFine. Very grateful to the @MiamiChamber for standing in support of this important legislation,” tweeted Lopez.

In December, Florida’s Voice reported police arrested three 16-year-old males in connection with several incidents of racist and antisemitic messages spray-painted in the Weston Hills Community.

Several antisemitic and hate messages were spray-painted inside and outside the bathrooms on the golf course.