Attorney General: Teen Takeover Participants Can Be Run Over, Face Racketeering Charges
Attorney General James Uthmeier warns teens organizing violent city takeovers face adult charges and drivers can legally strike crowds blocking traffic.
LARGO, FLORIDA — Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced Thursday that teenagers involved in violent city “takeovers” can legally be run over by drivers and face adult charges including racketeering, speaking at a press conference days after a shooting at Clearwater Beach left a 17-year-old hospitalized.
“You do not have the First Amendment right to stand in the middle of the street, obstruct traffic, and threaten violence,” Uthmeier said during the Largo press conference. “If you do that, people have the ability to run you over.”
Anti-Riot Law Provides Driver Protection
Uthmeier referenced Florida’s anti-riot law, which provides a civil defense for drivers who strike crowds encircling their vehicles. The state would also pursue criminal charges against participating teens as adults, including first-degree felony racketeering charges, he said.
The attorney general’s comments addressed a growing trend of teenagers using social media to organize massive takeovers of public areas. These unsanctioned gatherings, coordinated entirely online, have resulted in blocked traffic, violence, and shootings across multiple Florida cities.
Clearwater Beach Incident Sparks Crackdown
Last week’s Clearwater Beach takeover left one teenager hospitalized after the crowd swelled to more than 500 participants. Witnesses described hearing “6 or 7 gunshots,” according to reports, prompting the coastal city to deploy heavy police presence in subsequent days.
“There were 60 cops in Clearwater Beach yesterday,” Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said Thursday. “They see so many of us, and they’re like, ‘Nope! We’re out of here.'”
Gualtieri outlined increased penalties for speeding in the area and plans for continued heavy police presence. His department is also investigating online posts threatening to organize teen gatherings in Pinellas County, including sending officers to the homes of individual posters.
Statewide Response to Teen Takeovers
The phenomenon has affected cities beyond Florida, including Washington, D.C., and Chicago, but Florida has experienced a surge of these gatherings coinciding with the first week of summer break for most high school students.
Uthmeier said statewide police have disrupted “many” planned takeovers throughout Florida, though he did not provide specific numbers or locations during the press conference.
The attorney general’s office has not released details about how many teens have been charged in connection with recent takeover incidents or what specific evidence would be required to pursue racketeering charges against participants.
