Florida Statutes

Fla. Stat. § 870.02 (2025)

Unlawful assemblies.

✓ 2025 Florida Statutes — current through the 2025 Regular Session
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870.02 Unlawful assemblies.
(1) If three or more persons meet together to commit a breach of the peace, or to do any other unlawful act, each of them commits a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
(2) A person arrested for a violation of this section shall be held in custody until brought before the court for admittance to bail in accordance with chapter 903.
History.RS 2407; GS 3240; RGS 5073; CGL 7175; s. 1126, ch. 71-136; s. 16, ch. 2021-6.

Arrestable Offenses under F.S. 870.02

M = misdemeanor · F = felony · degree: F=1st S=2nd T=3rd
§870.02(1)ASSEMBLY-UNLAWFULCOMMIT BREACH OF PEACE BY 3 OR MORE PERSONSM · 2nd
§870.02ASSEMBLY-UNLAWFULRENUMBERED. SEE REC # 9443M · 2nd
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 8 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1961–2021 · leading case: State v. Simpson, 347 So. 2d 414 (Fla. 1977).
State v. Simpson, 347 So. 2d 414 (Fla. 1977). · cites it 10× “[2] § 870.02, Fla. Stat. (1975), reads: " Unlawful assemblies.”
Mobley v. State, 409 So. 2d 1031 (Fla. 1982). · cites it 2× “02 as prohibiting "(1) an assembly of three or more persons who, (2) having a common unlawful purpose, (3) assemble in such a manner as to give rational, firm, and courageous persons in the neighborhood of the assembly a well-grounded fear of a breach of the peace.”
Cohen v. Katsaris, 530 F. Supp. 1092 (N.D. Fla. 1982). · cites it 2× “Section 870.02, Florida Statutes, provides: If three or more persons meet together to commit a breach of the peace, or to do any other unlawful act, each of them shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in § 775.”
Dresner v. City of Tallahassee, 134 So. 2d 228 (Fla. 1961). · cites it 2× “04, supra, as amended, will reveal that the statute condemns a riotous assembly and provides a penalty under Section 870.02, Florida Statutes, F.S.A. The offense described in the statute is a misdemeanor triable in the state courts.”
Callendar v. State, 181 So. 2d 529 (Fla. 1966). · cites it 2× “The Appellants Callendar, Smith, and O'Connor were convicted in the County Judge's Court for Marion County on a charge of unlawful assembly in violation of F.S. § 870.02, F.S.A. Their appeal to the circuit court was dismissed on motion of the State Attorney for failure to comply…”
Smith v. State, 194 So. 3d 483 (Fla. 3d DCA 2016). · cites it 5× “The defendant, Timothy Smith, appeals from the revocation of his probation and the resulting sentences based on the trial court’s finding that he violated Condition Five of his probation by committing two new law violations — unlawful assembly in violation of section 870.02,…”
Dream Defenders v. Desantis (N.D. Fla. 2021). · cites it 8× “§ 870.02, Fla. Stat. (2021). Plaintiffs allege that section 2 will allow police to arrest and ticket peaceful protestors.”
City of Miami v. Cleveland, 250 So. 2d 298 (Fla. 3d DCA 1971). “01 (1) and (2); defines unlawful assemblies and provides the penalty therefor (§ 870.02); and provides a greater penalty for persons participating in riots involving destruction of buildings or vessels (§ 870.”
— 870.02(1) — 1 case
Dream Defenders v. Desantis (N.D. Fla. 2021). “§ 870.02, Fla. Stat. (2021). Plaintiffs allege that section 2 will allow police to arrest and ticket peaceful protestors.”
— 870.02(2) — 1 case
Dream Defenders v. Desantis (N.D. Fla. 2021). “§ 870.02, Fla. Stat. (2021). Plaintiffs allege that section 2 will allow police to arrest and ticket peaceful protestors.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.

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