There is no Florida anti-riot law numbered HB 805. The protest and riot statute people are usually looking for when they search Florida HB 805 is House Bill 1 from the 2021 session, signed by Governor Ron DeSantis on April 19, 2021, and codified as Chapter 2021-6. It’s commonly called the Combating Public Disorder Act.1Florida Senate. Florida Senate House Bill 1 (2021) The actual HB 805 from that same session dealt with volunteer ambulance services and has nothing to do with protests.2Florida Senate. Florida Senate House Bill 805 (2021) The rest of this article explains what the correct law, HB 1, actually does.
Riot and Aggravated Riot
Under the rewritten Section 870.01, a person commits a riot by willfully participating in a violent public disturbance with at least two other people, where the group shares an intent to assist each other in violent and disorderly conduct that causes injury, property damage, or imminent danger of either. A standard riot is a third-degree felony.3The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 870.01 – Affrays and Riots
The charge becomes aggravated rioting, a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison, if any one of these applies during the riot:4Florida Senate. Florida Code 775.082 – Penalties
- The person participates with 25 or more others
- Great bodily harm is caused to someone not involved in the riot
- Property damage exceeds $5,000
- A deadly weapon is used or threatened
- Vehicle traffic on a public road is blocked by force or threat of force
Only one aggravating factor is needed. A note on a widespread misstatement: the 25-person threshold is in the statute, not “more than nine,” as some summaries circulating online claim.3The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 870.01 – Affrays and Riots
Inciting a Riot
Encouraging others to riot is itself a crime, even without participating. Inciting a riot is a third-degree felony when the incitement produces an actual riot or imminent danger of one. It becomes aggravated inciting, a second-degree felony, if the incitement results in great bodily harm or more than $5,000 in property damage, or if the person supplies or teaches someone to prepare a deadly weapon for use in a riot.3The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 870.01 – Affrays and Riots
Mob Intimidation
HB 1 created a new offense called mob intimidation under Section 784.0495. You commit it if you join with two or more others, acting with a shared intent, to use force or threaten imminent force to compel someone to do something, stop doing something, or adopt a particular viewpoint against their will. It’s a first-degree misdemeanor, carrying up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.5The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 784.0495 – Mob Intimidation6Florida Senate. Florida Code 775.083 – Fines
Cyber-Intimidation by Publication
Section 836.115 makes it a first-degree misdemeanor to electronically publish someone’s personal identifying information with the intent to incite violence or a crime against that person, or to threaten or harass them in a way that places them in reasonable fear of bodily harm. Intent is the key element. Posting an address while complaining about someone online is not automatically a crime; prosecutors have to show the person specifically meant to provoke violence or harassment.7The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 836.115 – Cyberintimidation by Publication
You Can’t Bond Out at the Jail
Anyone arrested under the riot statute, except for simple affray (a mutual fight in public), must remain in custody until seen by a judge. There is no standard bond schedule release at the jail.3The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 870.01 – Affrays and Riots Florida’s pretrial release statute reinforces this by listing mob intimidation, assault in furtherance of a riot, and all second-degree or higher felonies among the offenses requiring an individualized bail hearing before release.8Florida Senate. Florida Code 903.011 – Pretrial Release Someone arrested at a protest on a riot charge can spend a night or more in jail before seeing a judge, even if the charges are later dropped.
Damaging a Memorial or Historic Property
Section 806.135 makes it a second-degree felony to willfully and maliciously destroy, demolish, or pull down a memorial or officially designated historic property. “Memorial” is defined broadly to include statues, plaques, markers, flags, banners, religious symbols, paintings, tombstones, and any structure or display meant to be permanently displayed or perpetually maintained. A conviction carries up to 15 years in prison, and the court must order full restitution for repair or replacement.9The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 806.135 – Destroying or Demolishing a Memorial or Historic Property4Florida Senate. Florida Code 775.082 – Penalties The restitution amount can be substantial for large monuments, and it is mandatory, not discretionary.
City Liability When Police Are Told to Stand Down
HB 1 amended Florida’s sovereign immunity statute, Section 768.28, to impose a duty on municipalities to allow their police to respond appropriately to protect people and property during a riot or unlawful assembly. If a city’s governing body, or someone it authorizes, breaches that duty, the municipality is civilly liable for personal injury, wrongful death, and property damage resulting from the failure to act.10The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 768.28 – Waiver of Sovereign Immunity in Tort Actions
The ordinary sovereign immunity caps do not apply. Florida normally limits recovery against a government entity to $200,000 per person and $300,000 per incident. For these riot-related claims, those caps are stripped away, exposing a city that ordered its police to stand down to uncapped damages.11Florida Senate. Florida Senate 2026 Bill No. HB 145
Affirmative Defense in Civil Suits
The law created an affirmative defense for people sued over actions taken during a riot. In a civil suit for personal injury, wrongful death, or property damage, a defendant can argue that the plaintiff’s own participation in a riot contributed to the harm. This is not immunity, and it is not permission to injure anyone. The defendant has to raise and prove the defense in court. Despite claims that the law lets drivers “run over protesters,” the statute does not authorize any such conduct; it only allows riot participation to be raised as a defense in a civil case.
Is the Law in Effect Right Now?
Yes. A federal district judge blocked enforcement of the core riot definition in 2022, finding it unconstitutionally vague and worried that it could criminalize the protected speech of people who merely attended a protest that turned violent. The Florida Supreme Court then issued a narrowing interpretation: a conviction requires proof the defendant specifically intended to assist others in violent conduct. Under that reading, being present at a protest that turns violent is not enough. In October 2024, the Eleventh Circuit reversed the district court’s injunction based on that narrower interpretation.12U.S. Department of Justice. Dream Defenders v. Governor of the State of Florida, No. 21-13489 (11th Cir. 2024)
The statute itself states that it “does not prohibit constitutionally protected activity such as a peaceful protest.”3The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 870.01 – Affrays and Riots Prosecutors must prove you intended to help with violent conduct, not just that you were nearby when it happened.