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Eight Florida cities join Gainesville in suing Gov. Ron DeSantis over 'anti-riot' law

Protests Florida: Gov. Ron DeSantis holds a news conference at the Polk County Sheriff's Office in Winter Haven, Fla., on Monday, April 19, 2021, surrounded by law enforcement, legislators, and police union representatives, holding up the bill he signed to create tougher penalties for people who participate in violent protests. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel via AP)
Protests Florida: Gov. Ron DeSantis holds a news conference at the Polk County Sheriff's Office in Winter Haven, Fla., on Monday, April 19, 2021, surrounded by law enforcement, legislators, and police union representatives, holding up the bill he signed to create tougher penalties for people who participate in violent protests. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel via AP)

Eight Florida cities have joined Gainesville's lawsuit challenging HB 1, the controversial law Gov. Ron DeSantis called the “strongest anti-rioting, pro-law enforcement piece of legislation in the country."

Lauderhill, Lake Worth Beach, Miramar, North Bay Village, North Miami, North Miami Beach, Tallahassee and Wilton Manors all signed on to the legal challenge.

The suit aims to invalidate section one of the law, which allows the governor and his cabinet to overrule local reductions to law enforcement budgets.

The cities are suing DeSantis and his cabinet: State Attorney General Ashley Moody, Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis and Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried.

Gainesville initiated the suit three months ago. The city commission voted against former city attorney Nicolle Shalley's advice to wait for firmer grounds, instead following the guidance of outside attorneys who took up the case pro bono. Shalley has since left her position with the city to become the Levy County Attorney.

Learn more about the lawsuit and Gainesville's role in it.

Katie Hyson was a Report for America Corps Member at WUFT News from 2021 to 2023. She now works for KPBS in San Diego.