Is Miami Beach's protest crackdown really 'nonpartisan'? Records show Israel views played role

Jones defended his department’s handling of the event and said the lone incident of violence involved a congregant who “battered” a protester.

While Suarez initially doubled down on his criticism, he said at last week’s meeting that he had met with Jones and that the pair “hashed things out” and “shook hands.”

A separate ordinance proposed by Commissioner Alex Fernandez that passed last month outlines rules against blocking streets or sidewalks, making it a crime for someone to obstruct a public right of way after being ordered to leave by police. The ordinance is aimed at the homeless population but also says police should provide protesters with an “adequate and available alternative forum” nearby before making arrests.

While Fernandez’s ordinance wasn’t proposed in connection with Meiner’s resolution, police sought to enforce the ordinance April 3 as a small group of pro-Palestinian protesters held signs outside the entrance to the Miami Beach Convention Center before last week’s commission meeting. Assistant Police Chief Paul Acosta ordered the protesters away from the doors and said they could stand closer to the street instead.

In December, Meiner had raised concerns about a pro-Palestinian protest outside the Convention Center during Art Basel, at which a group of artists unfurled a banner that read “Let Palestine Live.” About 100 people rallied while waving Palestinian flags and holding signs to call for a permanent ceasefire in the war in Gaza.

During that event, police tried to keep protesters away from the Convention Center doors and made two arrests. Days later, Meiner sponsored a discussion item that pointed out protesters were chanting “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” and called for the city to set “parameters for reasonable time, place and manner restrictions for protests, including discussion of incitement to violence vs. free speech.”

The mayor never called that item for discussion, but it served as the basis for the March resolution.

“That should not have happened,” Meiner said of the Art Basel protest at a Jan. 16 meeting with residents. “There’s a reasonable time, place and manner to do protests.”