Protesters defy Fourth of July Fort Lauderdale Beach closure; no arrests made

A group of protesters defied the Fort Lauderdale Beach closure to protest the decision to close Broward County beaches over the Fourth of July holiday.

According to WSVN, as of 5 p.m. the protesters, who waved American flags and held signs declaring “My Body My Choice,” had not been arrested or removed by local police.

Casey Liening, a spokeswoman for the Fort Lauderdale Police Department, confirmed to the Miami Herald that a group “ran into the sand” but that there were “no arrests or issues.”

Protesters wanted to exercise their right to celebrate Independence Day on the beach despite climbing coronavirus numbers, according to WSVN.

Mayors across Broward County banded together to shut down beaches for the holiday weekend, joining Mayor Carlos Gimenez’s closure of Miami-Dade County beaches until Tuesday.

The beaches were closed to prevent a holiday spike in COVID-19 cases, which have been steadily increasing in Florida. On Saturday, the state broke another record and reported over 11,000 new confirmed cases. Miami-Dade and Broward counties also recorded single-day highs; Miami-Dade reported nearly 2,500 new cases and Broward reported over 1,300 new cases.

This story was originally published July 4, 2020 at 7:11 PM.