A.G. Gancarski
A bill that could impose capital punishment for attempted assassinations on heads of state is finally moving, with the Criminal Justice Committee unanimously voting to advance it.
Rep. Jeff Holcomb’s legislation (HB 653) contemplates adding to Florida law that the death sentence applies when a “capital felony was committed against the head of a state, including, but not limited to, the President or the Vice President of the United States or the Governor of this or another state, or in an attempt to commit such crime a capital felony was committed against another individual.”
Holcomb, a Republican from Spring Hill, said his bill extended to heads of state the protections currently afforded to cops.
“Members, just think back to about a year ago, July 13, 2024, when President Trump had an attempted assassination. If that perpetrator had not been taken out by law enforcement, he would have gone on trial. If he had done that in Florida after this bill, he’d be eligible for the death penalty,” Holcomb said, alluding to the rally shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Trump, however, was not in office at the time, so he technically wouldn’t have been a head of state.
Democrats peppered Holcomb with questions, including about federal penalties for assassination attempts and why in that context a state would replicate them.
Holcomb said current laws “don’t necessarily treat assassination or attempted assassinations for a head of state with the heightened severity that it deserves.”
He also said the bill would provide “deterrence.”
“If you’re going to look to assassinate a head of state, you choose someplace else and not Florida,” he said.
Vice Chair Webster Barnaby extolled the “very, very important bill,” saying it would “ensure that when people come to Florida, they’ll know how to conduct themselves.”
This bill has one stop to go before the House floor.
Meanwhile, the Senate version (SB 776) of this proposal is being carried by another Spring Hill Republican, Sen. Blaise Ingoglia. It has yet to be heard in committee.
