A group of protesters, most from left-wing groups, demonstrated outside of the Florida Capitol in Tallahassee Thursday.
Their so-called "Good Trouble Protest" happened on the same day as rallies across the country—held in honor of late civil rights activist and politician John Lewis. He died on that day in 2020.
Activists that organized the protest advocated that those in attendance consider employing civil disobedience in response to Florida's controversial new immigration detention centers.
Robert Lee, one of the organizers, brought up Alligator Alcatraz, one of those centers in the middle of the Everglades in South Florida. People being kept there have reported poor conditions.
"You may have people tell you, you know, that's an exaggeration. Don't call it a concentration camp. No, it is a concentration camp. Please do not call it anything else but that," Lee said.
He pointed to reports that the state is considering plans to build more centers in Camp Blanding near Jacksonville and possibly in the Panhandle. His group will organize bus trips to protest the actions, but he said civil disobedience isn't the only way to participate.
"There always needs to be support systems. There needs to be bail funds. There needs to be people willing to go sit outside of a jail and wait for someone to be released after they were arrested," he said.
Governor Ron DeSantis said on Wednesday that the Camp Blanding site will not open until Alligator Alcatraz in the Everglades is filled. The governor has also downplayed concerns about the detention center.
"This is not the Ritz-Carlton, OK? We're not doing this just to let people have food and shelter, although they do get that, and all the minimum standards are upheld," he said.
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