Man briefly detained after hanging banner protesting SCOTUS abortion decision - CBS Miami

2022-07-31 16:15:08 By : Mr. Barton Zhang

MIAMI - A man was detained by police in Miami Saturday morning after hanging a banner to protest the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe V. Wade.

It happened at around 6:30 a.m. in the area of NW 3rd Avenue and 3rd Street.   

The banner read, "SOS Biden, they won't stop at Roe."

CBS4 asked the man, identified as Caleb Freestone, why he had risked his life to hang the banner.

"I'm not going to stand by till November, that's a long time. There's a lot of work to be done," added Freestone, who also says he risked his life to climb the structure to get the message across that elected officials need to do more to protect the rights of the public.  

"Risks are nothing compared to what's going to happen. The Supreme Court and not an elected body is taking away our rights and they did not just started with abortion, they started with voting rights, they started with corruption," said Freestone.

"This is an unelected body, they have no legitimacy, and three of the members committed perjury. They said it was law, and they lied."

"We need democracy to rule this country, not unelected bodies in the Supreme Court," he added.

Police handcuffed Freestone, but then released him.

He is part of a group that is protesting in that area. The group said that Biden's executive order is a good start, but more action needs to be taken."

"They woke a sleeping giant, we are the people," chanted protestors who gathered in downtown Miami.

"We need our president and our elected officials to actually fight back because the only people I see fighting right now is the Republican Party and their fighting for Christian rights," said protest organizer Tania Gonzalez.

The pop-up protest included members from the group Bans Off Miami, the group says they were marching in solidarity with similar protests occurring all across the country. 

Protestors walked to the federal court house with a similar message.

"If you're pro-life I respect that but at the same time the audacity. The audacity, you want to tell me what to do with my body, my children what to do with their bodies," said Gonzalez.

Bobeth Yates is a dynamic CBS4 News journalist and meteorologist who has reported and given weather and traffic updates in cities across the country.

First published on July 9, 2022 / 11:15 AM

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©2022 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.