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A law initially passed to protect President Donald Trump during his visits to Florida is now being used to charge football fans with felonies.
The law was proposed after thousands of fans without tickets rushed into the stadium during the 2024 Copa America soccer tournament at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. Lawmakers were also motivated over concerns for Trump’s safety while in Florida, particularly after an assassination attempt at his Florida golf course.
Bill sponsors wanted to impose harsher penalties for people who trespassed on Trump’s property or at events he was attending.
“This is specifically intended to address the Secret Service efforts to keep our president safe while he’s in the state of Florida,” Sen. Jonathan Martin, a Republican of Lee County, said about the law’s companion bill during a March hearing.
Following the law’s passage, Trump’s secret service put signs up surrounding his Mar-a-Lago residence to protect it under the new law.
But the law applies to more than the president’s residences.
Four Gator football fans rushed the field after the team won against Texas on Oct. 4, even though Ben Hill Griffin Stadium issued repeated public warnings not to do so. The fans, who previously would have been charged with misdemeanors for trespassing, are now being charged with third-degree felonies.
The Florida law under which they were charged increases penalties for trespassing in areas secured by law enforcement from misdemeanors to felonies.
The area must have a specific message posted in order for the law to apply: “This area is a designated restricted site secured by law enforcement, and anyone who trespasses on this property commits a felony.”
Aaron Wayt, the legislative co-chair for the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, said he doesn’t see any ethical issues with the prosecutors in this case using the statute.
If the statute is clear, he said, then courts don’t look at the intention behind the law when deciding whether a case falls under it.
“I don’t believe anybody accused could use the legislative intent to dismiss the charge,” Wayt said.
However, all four of the fans arrested, two of whom were UF students, took plea deals for deferred prosecution.
The deal’s terms require the four to pay a fine, write an essay and stay out of trouble for the next six months, according to court records.
If they follow the guidelines of the deal, charges will be dropped at the end of the six-month period, according to the agreement.
The fans are also prohibited from entering Florida’s stadium, and the two non-UF students are trespassed from UF property. UF spokesperson Cynthia Roldán confirmed both students are still enrolled.
UF is one of the only SEC schools to prohibit students from rushing the field after a football win, which has allowed them to escape fines from the conference. The SEC charges schools $500,000 per incident when fans storm the field or rush the court.
Katie O’Connell, an 18-year-old UF biology freshman, said the university’s policy is protective.
“I strongly agree with the policy, because I think that it’s respectful to the players and their families,” she said. “And I think that it prevents overall chaos.”
Contact Alexa Ryan at aryan@alligator.org. Follow her on X @AlexaRyan_.
Alexa is a second-year journalism and international studies students serving as the Fall 2025 Criminal Justice beat reporter. She previously served as a copy editor. She spends her free time running, traveling, having movie nights and going on random side quests with friends.
