Orlando’s Mayor Buddy Dyer announced Friday afternoon that charges against persons arrested for feeding the homeless at Lake Eola Park and violating a city Ordinance, would be dropped. Trials for more than two dozen persons–members and supporters–of the Orlando Food Not Bombs, were due to begin Monday.
Dyer, at a press briefing at City Hall, said he had directed the City’s prosecutor “to dismiss the charges against those individuals who have violated the Large Group Feeding Ordinance, because the issue is resolved.” He added that he would request the State Attorney’s Office to drop any related pending trespass charges.
Over the past few months, 27 people connected to Orlando Food Not Bombs (OFNB) have been arrested for feeding the homeless downtown at Lake Eola Park in violation of a City Ordinance.
Since 2006, OFNB has been challenging the City’s Ordinance saying it violates their first amendment rights and is “anti-homeless.” In April earlier this year, a federal appeals court upheld the Ordinance that bans large group feeding without a permit, after the City appealed a federal judge’s ruling in September 2008, which sided with the local group.
OFNB has, on a few occasions, taken up the city’s offer to conduct large group feeding of the homeless at City Hall.
In directing the dismissal of charges, Dyer warned that if OFNB returns to feeding in Lake Eola Park and the City Ordinance is broken again, individuals will be arrested once more.
Dyer said the city will continue to raise awareness of the issue of homelessness by working in partnership with several organizations to provide a wide array of services and resources, to assist those less fortunate individuals and their families.
