'I think that’s the right way to go': DeSantis signals support of Florida colleges using sprinklers on pro-Palestine student activists

Police have arrested pro-Palestinian protesters on Florida campuses and sprinklers have turned on, soaking protesters standing in solidarity. To Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida universities’ handling of the demonstrations against Israel’s attack on Gaza is the “right way to go.”

“You have a right to support or not support Israel, that’s the First Amendment. You don’t have a right to pitch a tent in the middle of campus and commandeer some of the property,” DeSantis said during a press conference Tuesday morning in Naples. “Look, there haven’t been that many in Florida. It’s much smaller compared to these others, but when you go and you’re bringing a tent or something on like a campus lawn, you know what they did at Florida State and University of Florida, they turn the sprinklers on. So that’s just how it’s gonna be, but it’s about conduct and it’s about making sure you’re doing the code of conduct.”

He continued: “The University of Florida put out a statement yesterday saying, you know, people can have the views that they want, but the University of Florida is not a daycare center. We’re not going to be sitting there and indulging this, and I think that’s the right way to go.”

His comments on Tuesday came the morning after reports that police arrested protesters at the University of Florida in Gainesville and the University of South Florida in Tampa. Since last week, DeSantis has bashed the Gaza solidarity encampments at Columbia University and Yale, but, he turned his attention to the protests on Florida campuses during his Naples press conference.

Police and state troopers arrested nine protesters at UF, the state’s flagship university, Monday night, and three others were arrested at USF the same day, according to Fresh Take Florida, a news service of the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications and the South Florida Sun Sentinel. One person arrested at UF was charged with a felony battery charge after being accused of spitting in the face of a police officer, whereas others face misdemeanor charges of trespassing, failing to obey police, resisting arrest or wearing a mask on public property.

UF’s student newspaper, The Alligator, reported that the protesters’ occupation of a plaza on campus since Wednesday consisted of rallies, prayer and students doing homework.
At USF, police arrested three people on Monday after protesters erected tents on campus, according to the Tampa Bay Times. The charges on those arrests ranged from battery on law enforcement to trespassing and resisting an officer without violence.

Florida’s chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, denounced the arrests.

“Arresting a particular group of students for their stance in a peaceful protest is blatant authoritarian censorship and targeting. USF officials have failed in their duty to protect our children and uphold freedom of expression and the First Amendment,” wrote Imam Abdullah Jaber, the executive director of CAIR-Florida, in a statement. “The foundation of academia is debate and dialogue, even over unpopular opinions. Every progress in our nation is a result of protest and debate, which are essential elements of our democracy. Punishing our children mirrors our nation’s past grave mistakes – it has never and will never lead to a solution.”

DeSantis’ reference to the sprinklers at FSU took place on April 25. A group of about 40 protesters took to the Landis Green area of the campus located in Tallahassee to demand that the university divest from companies with ties to Israel. The students did not have any pitched tents when the sprinklers set off. However, it’s not entirely clear about UF’s sprinkler situation, based on media reports.

Jayci Qassis, a Palestinian American student at FSU who participated in the protest, said: “It’s suppression, but it’s so cowardly that they can’t even just directly say that that’s what it is,” of the sprinklers turning on.

A university spokesperson said the sprinklers had to be turned on at that time because the area was reserved for other events later that day.

During the Naples press conference, the governor announced cancellation of fees to Florida State Parks during Memorial Day weekend.

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