Originally Posted by bimmertl

You must be kidding,"security protocols"! The removal of "protestors" had nothing to do with security.

I was there, people who had on tee shirts that said "vote Democratic" were removed from their seats and out of view of cameras and Rick Scott.

After the rally Scott mingled among the crowds and you could get right next to him with minimal effort. So there was no real security concerns apparent after the photo ops created by the signing.

There were quite a few empty seats and Scott personnel were constantly trying to get the seats filled by those of us who were standing around the perimeter of the seating area by making us aware of the empty seats.

The Daily Sun had front page information the event was "open to the public". Then the sheriffs said it was a private event the the square was "leased". They removed those who the Republican sponsors didn't want to be seen.

I guess for our next Villages block party we'll declare it a private event and have the sheriffs department out to remove non block residents from the party since they now apparently do this as a general service to the public at large.

Be sure to watch the Daily Sun for the correction stating they misinformed readers the event was "open to the public"!