Student activist arrested at anti-white supremacy rally speaks out at press conference

Tallahassee, FL – On Thursday, May 29, Tallahassee Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a press conference in support of member Lain Dorsey, who was arrested for protesting Florida State University’s platforming of white supremacists.

The press conference was held after Dorsey’s first court appearance at the Leon County Courthouse, where they were offered a diversion program. Dorsey’s charges are being dismissed in exchange for 15 hours of community service and a $250 fine.

On Thursday, April 24, Tallahassee SDS organized a rally to protest against FSU admin’s complacent attitude towards speakers and students who spread hate speech. The protest was a response to the April 17 mass shooting perpetrated by a student who espoused white supremacist beliefs. The FSU shooting ultimately resulted in the deaths of Robert Morales and Tiru Chabba, as well as the injury of six others.

Dorsey was arrested during the protest due to their use of amplified sound and charged with trespassing, which they described during an interview after their court appearance as “a bogus charge.”

Dorsey continued, “It really shows that FSU would rather take action against anti-racist students than against racist students and racist speakers who are coming to our campus. The amplified sound code of conduct policy was only put in place because of Students for a Democratic Society following our encampments for Gaza last year.”

Rather than taking action against those who propagated the hateful rhetoric that led to the deadly attack, FSU administration has instead continued its efforts to silence student activists. While Dorsey was charged with trespassing and indefinitely banned from campus for using a speaker to say the victims’ names, alt-right figures such as Charlie Kirk are allowed to use amplified sound to spew their bigoted talking points without repercussions.

Dorsey concluded, “SDS is still demanding that FSU make a public commitment to never allow a white supremacist speaker to come on campus again. We’re demanding that FSU admin work with leaders and members of identity-based student union groups to develop code of conduct policies targeting hate speech. And then we’re demanding that FSU admin actually take action against students who engage in hate speech and make campus a less safe place for people.”

Tallahassee SDS will be holding a Pride Talent Show on June 12, raising money to send members to the SDS National Convention. To learn more, or to get involved with the fight against racism at FSU, follow @TallySDS on Instagram.

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