Florida Law Aimed at Curbing Trump Protesters Nets Felony Charges for Florida Football Fans Who Rushed Field Following Victory Over Texas

Four jubilant football fans who stormed the field after the University of Florida’s victory over the University of Texas are now facing felony charges under a new state law intended to prosecute protesters at President Trump’s Florida events.Two UF students, along with two older fans, were handcuffed and arrested on October 4 after running onto Steve Spurrier-Florida Field following the 29-21 upset victory.The felony charges they’re facing would be the first filed statewide under the law since it took effect May 16. The legislation was designed to ban entry into secured areas at large, ticketed events, and subjects violators to up to five years in prison and $5,000 fines.During the bill’s passage through the state legislature, its own authors clarified that the law was never meant to criminalize a longstanding collegiate practice that has occurred sporadically at college football games for decades.During a March hearing before the senate criminal justice committee, a Republican state senator, Joe Gruters of Sarasota, sought clarification by asking, “Just to be absolutely clear, if someone runs onto the field, they won’t face felony charges?”“That’s not the intent, and they can quote me in the case law if that becomes an issue,” the bill’s sponsor, a Republican senator of Fort Myers, Jonathan Martin, said in response.“This is specifically intended to address the Secret Service efforts to keep our president safe while he’s in the state of Florida,” he added. “Currently people who are trespassing at those events or locations where the president is located are only committing a misdemeanor. This keeps happening very frequently.”The criminal charges related to the incident at UF stand out when compared with punishments meted out at other universities where similar celebrations have broken out. When Florida State defeated Alabama in August, FSU fans rushed the field, but court records show no arrests for trespassing were made, according to the Gainesville Sun. The university was instead hit with a $50,000 fine from the Atlantic Coast Conference.The state attorney’s office has not formally charged the four fans yet, court records show. All four were arrested at the stadium on felony charges, taken to jail for booking, and then released without posting bail.The university issued three-year stadium bans to the two UF students, while the other individuals received three-year bans from the entire campus.Fans rushing the field after a team’s victory is an unspoken tradition in college football.“When I watch these other schools do it, that’s a memory of a lifetime for those students,” the namesake of the stadium and former UF coach, Steve Spurrier, said to Fresh Take Florida, a news service at the University of Florida.Last year, Mr. Spurrier had encouraged fans to rush the field if the Gators were able to beat LSU.“I was hoping it would put a little incentive into our team,” he said at the time. “According to [current] Coach Napier, they had a little extra juice thinking the students were going to swarm out there if we beat LSU that night.”

Florida Law Aimed at Curbing Trump Protesters Nets Felony Charges for Florida Football Fans Who Rushed Field Following Victory Over Texas

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