About a hundred protesters showed up Tuesday at Hillsborough Community College ahead of President Joe Biden’s first Florida stop since wrapping up the Democratic nomination.
Chants of “From the river to the sea! Palestine will be free!” could be heard on the campus.
Some of them were members of Progressive People’s Action and Tampa Bay Area Dream Defenders that urged protests on their Instagram pages in support of abortion and against Biden’s involvement in the war in Gaza, saying that “Genocide Joe’s” support for women is a “fake, shallow, performative act” as Palestinian women die in the conflict.
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Lauren Pineiro, member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, was one of the protesters.
“We’ve seen huge protests happening across the country and people are making it very clear that they stand with Palestine, they stand with the people of Palestine and with the Palestinian resistance. … He doesn't care," Pineiro said. "What he cares about is protecting the interests of the U.S. in the Middle East.
“I feel like this is a very clear attempt at trying to grab more voters. He sees that he is tanking and he sees this as a way to gain more voters, but he had every chance to protect abortion.”
Mary Marks, policy manager for the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Florida, said came to support Palestinian Americans, Americans and Arab Americans in Florida and abroad, and try to “convince people to stop taking lives and become peacemakers.”
“Biden has told us that he stands for human rights and that he is different from President (Donald) Trump." Marks said. "He had a 'welcome back to diplomacy' speech his first like three or four days in office when he was first elected and he said ‘'diplomacy is back' and there has been zero diplomacy regarding Palestinian lives and their right to exist on their lands and the occupation.”
Other protesters showed up with anti-abortion and religious signs.
During Tuesday's campaign stop, Biden discussed the state's ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, which goes into effect next week.
He also showed support fora November referendum that would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution if passed.
The Biden administration Monday also issued a statement applauding a new Health and Human Services rule that will strengthen privacy for people who seek out-of-state abortions in states where abortion is legal.
This update to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA, which prohibits medical providers and health insurers from divulging medical information about patients, will now prevent medical providers from giving abortion records to law enforcement.
“No one should have their medical records used against them, their doctor, or their loved one just because they sought or received lawful reproductive health care,” the statement said.
