A Tuesday morning press conference hosted by Gov. Ron DeSantis was disrupted after a group of at least seven individuals refused to leave the public health department building in Duval County and demanded to speak to the Republican governor.
Ben Frazier, an activist and Black man, led the protest in Jacksonville, and was eventually forced to leave the room where members of the media gathered for DeSantis’ press conference that was supposed to begin around 10:15 a.m.
Frazier was told by a man who described himself as a facilities manager that the conference was only for “credentialed press” and asked everyone to leave “who is not media.” According to the Northside Coalition of Jacksonville’s website, Frazier serves as the president and is a former journalist.
Frazier remained in the room, saying “We’re not moving, we come in peace.” He continued: “What about the voice of the people? The governor is afraid to meet with the people.”
As law enforcement officers were present in the room, Frazier later was escorted out the building in handcuffs. The group began shouting, “when it comes down to public welfare, this governor does not care.”
State Rep. Michele Rayner, an attorney and a Democrat running for Congress, tweeted Tuesday morning after the event took place. Rayner represents parts of Hillsborough, Manatee, Pinellas, and Sarasota counties.
“No, this isn’t from 1955,” Rayner said. “A Black man dared to refuse to leave until he met with the governor. From my understanding he wasn’t disrespectful. But you know Ronnie can’t handle criticism of any kind. SMDH.”
As of about 11:30 a.m., Tuesday, the DeSantis press conference has not begun. The governor and Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo and other state agency officials were supposed to be in attendance.
Phoenix intern Imani Thomas contributed to this report.
This article was first published at Florida Phoenix.
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This article appears in Dec 29, 2021 – Jan 4, 2022.