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August 16, 2013

Dream Defenders End Occupation of Florida Capitol After 31 Days 
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The Dream Defenders are ending their occupation of the Florida State
Capitol after 31 days. They entered the suite of Florida Republican
Governor Rick Scott three days after the acquittal of George Zimmerman
to call for the repeal of Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law which
delayed Zimmerman's arrest for killing Trayvon Martin and affected
instructions to the jury. The group claimed a number of victories,
including a promise from House Speaker Will Weatherford to hold a
hearing on the law this fall, although Governor Scott rebuffed their
demands for a special session. They have announced plans to register the
amount of voters by which Governor Scott won the election in 2010. The
group's executive director, Phillip Agnew, spoke Thursday.

Phillip Agnew: "And so it is now that I am proud to announce that our
work and our power has grown too big for these halls, and that it's time
for the movement to continue, and that this is the last time that I'm
going to sleep on any floor. And so, as we announced just last week, I'd
like to reaffirm our intent to register 61,550 voters in the state of
Florida, because we will indeed never forget."

 

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