The story below was originally reported by Jessica Kutz of The 19th. Meet Jessica and read more of their reporting on gender, politics and policy.
The state representative [Angie Nixon] was arrested in May for refusing to leave the building while attempting to meet with Gov. Ron DeSantis about a redistricting plan that favored Republicans.
Florida state Rep. Angie Nixon, who won the Democratic nomination for a U.S. Senate seat in an August primary upset, can now focus on her upcoming election without having to deal with potential prison time.
Nixon was arrested in May at the state Capitol on misdemeanor trespassing and resisting an officer without violence charges for refusing to leave the building while attempting to meet with Gov. Ron DeSantis about a redistricting plan that would tilt four Democratic seats in favor of Republicans.
Wearing her signature bright pink, and using her matching megaphone, she also protested the Republican-drawn maps, which decrease the power of voters of color, on the state House floor.
On Tuesday, Nixon’s case ended in a resolution, meaning she did not have to plead guilty but instead must pay a $250 fine and perform 15 hours of community service. She faced up to two years of jail time.
Nixon previously told Capital B, a nonprofit news outlet, that she thinks Democrats need to make their voices heard.
“I want us to get louder,” she said. “I was at a workshop on democracy last year, and a historian talked about how the only way that countries have been able to save democracy was by getting loud and mobilizing and taking it to the streets.”
Nixon, who is also a community organizer, said in a statement after the settlement that she did nothing wrong.
“Elected leaders being accessible to the people they serve is fundamental to a functioning democracy,” she said. “People should be able to walk into their government offices, speak with their leaders directly and have a conversation — whether they agree or disagree. If people cannot come to us to demand answers, challenge our decisions or simply ask to be heard, then what are our offices for?”
Nixon, a progressive member of the Democratic Socialists of America, stunned Democrats in the state when she won her primary in August. Republicans have made major inroads in Florida, which is home to a large Cuban and Venezuelan population, by decrying the ills of socialism. A few polls have shown Nixon tied with incumbent Republican Sen. Ashley Moody, but others have shown Moody ahead.
Nixon has the backing of prominent Democratic progressives ahead of the November election, including Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Maxwell Frost of Florida, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.
After her primary win, Nixon said: “We have proved that everyday people are more powerful than corporations and millionaires. Together we went up against the political establishment — against millions of dollars of outside spending. We were outspent 16 to 1 and we won.”
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A note from the People’s Tribune: You can see more about Angie Nixon’s campaign on Angie Nixon’s Facebook page.
I’m Jessica Kutz, The 19th’s climate reporter. I’ve been a reporter for a decade, starting my career at a local newspaper, where I covered politics, environmental issues, and the immigrant community. For four formative years, I worked at High Country News, an environmental magazine where I wrote and edited stories on social and environmental justice. At the 19th, I love to write stories about those who advocate for their communities, and whose identities have shaped how they view and tackle injustice, particularly in the face of the climate crisis. Often, I find, these people are women.
