New legislation signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) earlier this week increases criminal penalties for crimes committed during protests. DeSantis called it "the strongest anti-looting, anti-rioting, pro-law-enforcement piece of legislation in the country," MSNBC reports, and it may be part of a trend in Republican-led states, The New York Times writes.
One of the most notable aspects of the law is that tearing down monuments, including Confederate ones, is now a second-degree felony offense, meaning anyone who is charged with doing so would face a maximum of 15 years in prison, the Times reports.
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