Spring break is beginning around the country.
Wild and crazy students are ready to descend on Florida.
And spring breakers got one message from Ron DeSantis about partying they did not expect.
Ron DeSantis warns rowdy spring breakers about keeping things in check
Spring break is a rite of passage for high school and college students.
Every year, they flock to Florida to enjoy some fun in the sun.
But some cities in the Sunshine State are letting them know they are not welcome after past experiences of out-of-control behavior.
Miami Beach has cracked down on spring break after alcohol-fueled behavior from rowdy spring breakers caused chaos.
Spring break 2023 saw two people get shot and killed, property damage, and hundreds of arrests.
Fed-up city officials began issuing curfews, jacking up parking rates, restricting beach access, and increasing police presence.
The spring break crowd in Miami Beach has declined since the city decided to crack down.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced that state law enforcement was being deployed to Miami Beach to help maintain order.
He warned spring breakers that rowdy behavior was not going to be tolerated in Florida.
“We can’t have things just descend into madness, mayhem, and chaos,” DeSantis said. “And it hurt businesses when that happened. It hurts residents’ quality of life. And there’s just a lot of negatives that came from that.”
DeSantis welcomes tourists who follow the rules and laws during their vacation.
“2024 was the most successful and smoothest spring break we’ve had here in a long time. There’s a lot of great reasons to want to come here, and we welcome that, and we’ll continue to welcome that,” DeSantis added. “But it’s got to be done in a way that is good for everybody.”
Spring break riots rocked a Florida city
Spring breakers began to cross a bright red line on Miami Beach in 2021 when Florida was one of the few states open during the pandemic.
Riots broke out, and spring breakers clashed with police that year.
Over 1,000 arrests were made during spring break 2021.
Other spring break hotspots in Florida are trying to shed their reputation as destinations for students to party.
Daytona Beach is also discouraging them from coming to the one-time spring break capital.
Volusia County Sheriff Michael Chitwood ordered his deputies to double the number of citations that he handed out this spring break compared to last year.
Chitwood had a blunt message for anyone heading to Daytona Beach on spring break.
“Law enforcement is going to be all over the place,” Chitwood said. “They think we’re playing here, we’re not. We really don’t want you here. To be honest with you, nobody wants you here. They don’t bring any financial benefit here.”
The sheriff told the press that his goal was to hand out more than 200 citations to spring breakers.
Florida was known for decades for having wild and crazy spring break destinations like Daytona Beach, Panama City, and Fort Lauderdale that attracted the likes of MTV.
The days of Florida being Animal House on the beach are coming to an end.
DeSantis Daily will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this ongoing story.
