As voters line up for hours to cast their ballots in what is arguably the most divisive and antagonistic election of our time, Miami Police are going to be watching to ensure that passion doesn’t turn into intimidation or harassment.
“The level of anxiety and the fear that we’re seeing from our residents and business owners is really unlike anything we’ve seen in the past,” said Chief Jorge Colina, at press conference with Mayor Francis Suarez and Commissioner Manolo Reyes.
“Obviously, it’s a very antagonistic election,” Suarez said.
Colina said there was no “credible threat” and no evidence of any actual harassment. “But we know it only takes a moment for some radical fringe group to activate a number of people and go out and commit some act to try to intimidate,” he added.
Read related: Early voting starts Monday with more days and hours — but wear a mask
Let’s be honest, here. We’re really talking about the Proud Boys and other Trumpetarians who — called upon by Donald Trump to “keep an eye on things” at voting locations, to “stop the fraud” that doesn’t exist — are really expected to intimidate electors and suppress the vote.
While not making that direct connection, Miami Police Chief Jorge Colina said he had seen a video of a Proud Boy member with one of their “Stand Back, Stand By” shirts walking pretty aggressively alongside vehicles in a Latinos por Biden caravan Sunday.
“That’s exactly the kind of thing we’re worried about,” Colina said
He knows that if you go to a Biden rally with a Proud Boys shirt on, you’re not there to make friends.
“Anytime we have a group that shows up, there’s a counter group, and the last thing we want is for people to engage with each other and stop each other from exercising their rights,” Colina said.
Daniela Ferrera, one of the caravan’s organizers, said a pro Trump caravan intercepted their group on Calle Ocho, flanking them on the lanes to the right and left, yelling obscenities, “literally trying to run our folks off the road,” Ferrera said. The group — which has been putting on caravans regularly since July — keeps the route a secret until about an hour before the start, to avoid such encounters. She thinks her group was infiltrated.
“We were in the center lane and we had Trump people on both sides, going in both directions. We were stuck in the middle. It was scary,” she said.
Somebody broke the window of a mobile sign truck for Biden, parked in Little Haiti, where the caravan began. Ferrera and another activist, Sofia Hidalgo, said police later arrested someone in connection with that and may have — nobody was sure — confiscated weapons. There is a photograph of police taking possession of some large black bags that could be firearms.
Colina could not be reached for comment or confirmation. But he said at the press conference that no Miami Police officer will take any vacation or days off until after the election ends Nov. 3. Furthermore, administrators and detectives are being asked to bring their uniforms in case they need to hit the streets.
Read related: Polar opposite partisan caravans show mayoral votes are along blue/red lines
“We’re going to have a robust presence of uniformed personnel out and about in the streets so everyone can see we’re available,” Colina said.
“The message here is quite simple: You are going to have the ability to go vote and exercise your right, it is and one of the most precious things that we have in this country, number 1,” Colina said. “Number 2, if anyone comes out and tries to suppress your ability to vote, to cast your vote, we’re going to be there to protect your right.
“Anybody who breaks the law will go to jail.”
News reports said that Miami-Dade Police were also beefing up patrols around voting sites, but that might not be enough to stop bad actors.
Three men with walkie-talkies stood next to the ballot drop-off box watching voters intently at the West Dade Regional Library on the first day of early voting Monday.
Asked if any intimidation of voters had been reported, Elections Supervisor Christina White said, “Not that was brought to our attention.”
Early voting continues from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day through Nov. 1.
Miami Police will patrol the polls to curb voter suppression, intimidation added by Ladra on
View all posts by Ladra →
