Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced the creation of an online portal through which people can report "calls for violence" or threats of violence that they observe.
Uthmeier, a Republican appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, made the announcement Monday at Valencia College in Orlando.
Uthmeier tied the creation of the portal to the killing earlier this month of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and other acts of political violence -- though the list he gave in his remarks omitted the violent acts of rightwing extremists.
"So it's never been more important," Uthmeier said, "for people to speak up, for us to have safe academic environments where people feel confident to engage in discussion, free from attack, free from violence."
The portal is on the attorney general's website and can be found at myfloridalegal.com/cve, which stands for "Combat Violent Extremism."
Uthmeier said those reports -- which might include videos, images or text messages -- will be investigated in collaboration with law enforcement.
Asked by a reporter if there were specific threats that caused him to open the portal, Uthmeier said, "I'll just say generally, you know, we've seen chatter online that looks concerning, and you know we're going to take everything seriously until we know that it is not a legitimate threat."
Uthmeier said he respects the First Amendment, which includes the right to free speech. "But there's a big difference when it comes to a threat of violence, a call for violence that is not protected by the First Amendment," he said.
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