MSNBC Points Out Cuban Protesters in Miami Violating Florida Law Enacted in Response to BLM Protests

MSNBC pointed out on Thursday that some of those in Miami protesting against the regime in Cuba are violating a Florida law that was enacted last year in response to Black Lives Matter riots.

Opening the segment, anchor Craig Melvin said “this morning, Cuba’s president again speaking out in the wake of the largest protest that nation has seen in a quarter century. He acknowledges his government’s shortcomings in handling food shortages. It’s been one of the driving factors of the demonstrations.”

“Meanwhile, here in the United States, as supporters of the Cuban protesters in Miami continue their demonstrations, it’s raising some new scrutiny of a law that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed back in April,” said Melvin. “That law was in response to the Black Lives Matter protests.”

The segment turned to NBC News correspondent Kerry Sanders on the ground in Miami. He noted that in the law’s 60 pages that “if people went on to a major thoroughfare, street, a highway and closed it down, they would be subject to arrest and it would be a felony arrest.”

“So now let’s take a look at the pictures this week on the Palmetto Highway in Miami,” Sanders continued. “Major thoroughfare which was shut down for more than six hours by those Cuban-Americans in support of those on the island. What was not applied was this anti-riot law. And so the question then came up among those who are aligned with Black Lives Matter were those who are just civil rights leaders that felt that, well, when that law was passed, we were suspect about why it is passed. Now we don’t see it applied evenly.”

The segment then went to a clip to prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump saying, “It completely contradicts what they said when they passed this law that it wasn’t about black lives matter. But it was a public safety issue. And now we look at what’s going on in Miami where they’re shutting down major interstates but yet there is no enforcement of the law. It’s Hypocrisy 101.”

Sanders read a statement from DeSantis that read, “Under preexisting Florida law, blocking a road has long been illegal … It is puzzling that some media outlets are attempting to claim otherwise.”

Sanders said, “Of course, this is us as reporters reporting what others are saying. This is not an agenda of any reporter at least that I can see here. But most importantly here is the governor saying that there was already an existing law. But because he said in a statement I couldn’t then directly ask him in a question: ‘Well, if there was an existing law, why was there need for the anti-riot law to begin with?’”

Sanders went on to say that he “may have an opportunity to talk to the governor later today because he’ll be here in Miami holding a news conference where he may, just a short distance from where I am, address this issue.”

“But for now, you can see the conflict where some people say on the one hand the law was passed and was passed in response to Black Lives Matter,” he concluded. “But when you first have the opportunity to apply the law as roads are closed down, major thoroughfares for more than six hours, the law was not used.”

Watch above, via MSNBC.