Small protest gathers in Coral Springs over civil rights, immigration arrests
.png "A handful of residents from the Coral Springs area gathered to protest what they saw as an illegal threat of arrest by a Coral Springs police officer, as well as actions by President Donald Trump’s administration.")
Drivers on Saturday may have noticed a small group of costumed protestors on the corner of University Drive and Atlantic Boulevard, near the Coral Springs Aldi.
The assembly, which was not afiiliated with a group such as 50501 or Broward County Democrats, came together to advocate against a variety of issues they see as anti-democratic.
Martin Vidal said he was there to defend his and others’ civil rights.
“I feel like I have a Republican-coded soul,” he said. “I just want Americans to be a little bit more American sometimes, you know? Like, come out here, join us to preserve your rights. We’re all on the same side.”
All of the protestors referenced an incident from Aug. 4 that was captured on video and posted on social media. In the video, a police officer appears to be reading a state statute about wearing masks in public to a masked protester, saying he didn’t want to arrest her.
The Nov. 15 protest arose in part as a response to the incident.
“They were threatening illegal arrests, as far as we understand it,” Vidal said. “We’re out here intentionally wearing masks, sort of calling their bluff and trying to stand our ground on our rights, to say that we can do this.”
The agency denied that officers threatened to arrest anyone at that protest.
“If participants are peacefully protesting and not causing a breach of peace of any sort, or commits a crime, our agency has taken no enforcement action during these protests,” a Coral Springs Police spokesperson told the Coral Springs News via email.
“At no point did Officer Murray threaten to arrest the participant. The unknown female voice in the video mentioned that the officer threatened the unknown participant; however, no threats of an arrest was heard,” the spokesperson continued in response to the video in question.
“Our officers are expected to lead with professionalism and respect in every interaction and our officer did exactly that. Educating the public and maintaining an open dialogue, the officer helped create a safe and informed environment.”
Florida laws regarding masks can be confusing. Multiple statutes are in place that make wearing a mask on public or private property illegal, with particular mention of protests and demonstrations. However, an addition to the law clarifies that a person is only in violation if they are committing or intend to commit a crime, or seek to harass or intimidate someone.
Participants’ reasons for protesting expanded beyond the singular incident.
Jennifer Jones, who has been active in protests against President Donald Trump since his inauguration in January, said that the administration’s refusal to release the Jeffrey Epstein files and recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests in Florida propelled her to the Saturday morning action.
Trump has since encouraged House Republicans to vote to release the Epstein files.
“It’s not only utilizing your First Amendment, it’s also showing people, this is not normal, this is not OK,” she said.
“I don’t think people really realize the crisis that we’re in,” Jones continued. “I know I have friends that are very like-minded, but they’re just not paying attention.”
This was a throughline for other protestors, too.
“What keeps me doing it is thinking of the alternative, which is silence,” Vidal said. “It’s to make sure that at least people know that somebody sees what’s happening, and somebody spoke out against it.”
This story was originally published November 18, 2025 at 12:19 PM.
