Florida's Republican-controlled Legislature passes "anti-riot" bill amid racial unrest

Florida's Republican-controlled Legislature approved stiffer penalties against violent protesters on Thursday, handing a major legislative victory to Governor Ron DeSantis, who began campaigning for the measure last year following a summer of turmoil across the country over the killings of Black people by police.

A divided Florida Senate approved a so-called anti-riot bill as the trial of a former Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, was underway for the death of George Floyd, a Black man whose death under Chauvin's knee triggered waves of protests. The measure was sent to Florida's Republican governor as new protests erupted this week in a Minneapolis suburb after another fatal police shooting of a Black man.