There’s a fair chance sparks will fly when a Grammy-winning superstar with millions of fans nationwide like Lizzo enters the debate about law enforcement and protests. That happened when Sheriff Wayne Ivey of Brevard County, Florida, issued a stark warning in the aftermath of the recent “No Kings” protests. And the way he put it was plain, unvarnished, and direct: violent protesters who threatened deputies or public safety would be responded to with deadly force, meaning not a nice-talky conversation.
The sheriff did not mince words: “We will kill you graveyard dead. We’re not going to play.” Those comments, intended to discourage violence and keep his officers and the community safe, were a gut punch to the singer Lizzo, who took to the internet in a scorching video to call out the sheriff. She described the warning as threatening the First Amendment right to protest, dubbing it “appalling” and “unconstitutional.”
But Sheriff Ivey wasn’t about to take that. In a statement to Fox News Digital in response to Lizzo, he left little doubt that her criticism was neither wanted nor informed. “Lizzo, who?” he said dismissively, conceding that he hadn’t heard of her before the controversy. He then took down her reading, noting that she falsely quoted him and obviously hadn’t listened to what he’d said.
The sheriff hastened to set the record straight on what his tough talk meant. Ivey says his warning was directed only to violent troublemakers, not protesters exercising their constitutional rights. “At no time was anyone peacefully exercising their First Amendment rights threatened,” he said. Peaceful protests are part of our democracy, and we will be sure we have a safe stage for peaceful protests. He insisted he was concerned only with those whose actions could prove dangerous to citizens and law enforcement officers.
The protests that day in Brevard County remained peaceful, and there were no local arrests. Central Florida had only three arrests, all in Ocala, outside of the Brevard limelight. This seemed consistent with what Sheriff Ivey was arguing: that the threats were aimed only at violent behavior, not at the right to demonstrate peacefully.
This volley between a pop icon and a no-nonsense sheriff underscores an emerging tension in the national discussion about protests and public safety. For Lizzo, the sheriff’s message was a frightening step too far, a chilling warning against free speech. In Sheriff Ivey’s estimation, it was a position he had to take to maintain law and order and save lives in the face of national unrest.
In a way, this essence is an example of how people perceive the same message so very differently, given their positions. To some in Brevard County, Sheriff Ivey’s pledge not to mess around with violent protesters could be taken as a forceful line in defense of community safety. For Lizzo and many others, the line between shielding and threats appears much more porous, particularly concerning constitutional rights.
Whichever side of this divide you’re on, this showdown serves as a reminder of the power of words on the part of our leaders and influencers, especially in moments of protest and passion. Sheriff Wayne Ivey and Lizzo are just two voices in a much larger national discussion, and it’s far from being concluded.
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