Police in Jacksonville, Florida, removed activists from a news conference Tuesday for Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has faced growing criticism for his handling of the pandemic and other policies.

Ben Frazier, President of Jacksonville’s Northside Coalition, and other protestors were led away after they refused to leave a health department building. Frazier called DeSantis an “enemy of the people” before being led away in handcuffs.

“We have a right our First Amendment rights, we can express them peaceably. And that is what we are doing here. This governor is ... an enemy of the people,” Frazier said.

Frazier repeatedly said, "we are not leaving." He stressed he was in a public building.

"Is the governor afraid to meet with the people," Frazier asked a staffer.

The representative said they could not start the briefing until the organizers left and that the event was only for credentialed media.

Frazier can be heard asking, "Why am I being arrested?" and "Why am I being handcuffed?"

“The press conference is for credentialed media to cover information from the governor’s office and state leaders that is important for the public to hear," said DeSantis' press secretary Christina Pushaw in a statement. "Mr. Frazier is an activist, not a member of the press. Every citizen has the right to protest in public places -- but not to trespass in a secured facility in order to disrupt a press briefing and prevent information from being conveyed to the public.”

Frazier is a part of the group that filed a lawsuit against DeSantis’ administration over his anti-riot laws. In September, a federal judge ruled that DeSantis' controversial law to quell violent protests was unconstitutional and cannot be enforced.

Frazier has also called out DeSantis for his handling of the pandemic. DeSantis has been noticeably absent in recent weeks as Florida broke its single-day COVID-19 record with 75,900 cases on New Year's Eve.

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