Miami Beach Police Chief Defends Detectives’ Visit to Activist over Facebook Post About Mayor

So WPLG Local 10 (Miami) [Ryan Mackey] reported Friday. Apparently,

[A] Facebook post by [Steven] Meiner, who is Jewish, … he described Miami Beach as “a safe haven for everyone,” contrasting it with New York City, which he said was “intentionally removing protections” for and “promoting boycotts” of Israeli and Jewish businesses.

This led to a response from Miami Beach activist and past political candidate Raquel Pacheco:

The guy who consistently calls for the death of all Palestinians, tried to shut down a theater for showing a movie that hurt his feelings, and REFUSES to stand up for the LGBTQ community in any way (even leaves the room when they vote on related matters) wants you to know that you’re all welcome here [followed by three clown emojis].

Police detectives came to her home; a video apparently shows one saying,

What we are just trying to prevent is somebody else getting agitated or agreeing with the statement, we are not saying if it’s true or not.

The Miami Beach Police Chief responded with this statement:

Given the real, ongoing national and international concerns surrounding antisemitic attacks and recent rhetoric that has led to violence against political figures, I directed two of my detectives to initiate a brief, voluntary conversation regarding certain inflammatory, potentially inciteful false remarks made by a resident to ensure there was no immediate threat to the elected official or the broader community that might emerge as a result of the post. The interaction was handled professionally and without incident.

I had serious concerns that her remarks could trigger physical action by others.

At no time did the Mayor or any other official direct me to take action.

The Miami Beach Police Department is committed to safeguarding residents and visitors while also respecting constitutional rights.

My tentative reaction is that, in the absence of more evidence about Pacheco’s statements, this is improper behavior by the city, behavior that risks deterring people (whether Pacheco or others) from engaging in constitutionally protected speech.

To be sure, the police may indeed ask to talk to people based on their speech, even if the speech is itself constitutionally protected. To take one simple example, I generally have the right to say “Joe Schmoe is an evil man and I’d be happy if he died.” But if the next day he winds up killed, the police may talk to me to see if I may have been involved. Likewise, I generally have the right to say “Joe Schmoe is an evil man and God is sending me messages about what God’s plan is for punishing Joe Schmoe.” But the police may come to door to ask about what I think God’s plan to be (maybe it involves God appointing me as the agent of punishment).

But Pacheco’s statement, as reported in the media (see also the Miami Herald [Aaron Leibowitz]) doesn’t seem to me to justify any concerns that Pacheco is planning on attacking the mayor, or is otherwise likely to have violated the law or be planning to violate the law. And if the concern is with “somebody else getting agitated or agreeing with the statement,” I don’t see how that can justify having the police approach Pacheco about it.

Note also that, if the mayor simply wanted to ask Pacheco to retract her statement on the grounds that it’s wrong (e.g., as to “consistently calls for the death of all Palestinians”) or unfair, or on the grounds that it might lead others to attack the mayor, I think he’d be entitled to do that. But there’s no basis for sending law enforcement officials to do that.

Thanks to Glenn Reynolds (Instapundit) for the pointer.