Associated Press
A Florida town has fined people involved in recent racial justice protests thousands of dollars for using megaphones police say violate a local noise ordinance.
The Tampa Bay Times reports that officials in New Port Richey have issued 14 citations that total about $4,700 to at least five protesters. Black Lives Matter activist Christina Boneta said she was fined more than $2,500 for using her megaphone and once arrested for refusing to sign a citation.
New Port Richey has a strict noise ordinance that was enacted in 2017 to crack down on loud downtown bars and clubs. It gives police officers broad discretion to decide when a citation is issued.
The protesters have stopped using megaphones but they still gather once or twice a week to spread a message of racial justice and protest police killings of Black people. Many are fighting the noise citations in court.
Police and city officials declined comment. New Port Richey is about 24 miles north of Clearwater.
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Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
2 comments
Sam
November 24, 2020 at 1:54 pm
I support the protesters’ cause and their right to do it it, but I also support the enforcement of noise ordinances also. We don’t have one in my FL city, and I wish we did because the cops won’t even respond to a noise complaint. Nobody has the right to force their noise into your head. If the enforcement power is being abused or arbitrary, then that’s another story because that issue is not mentioned in this piece.
kathy
November 26, 2020 at 7:45 am
i support the police in this. i dont want to hear what these people have to say. and to say it louder only annoys me. we need to speak out against this form of bullying. if more of us support the police, it may convince these protesters to go away.
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