What's Up Sheepdog? Ryan here with Tampa Carry .

On September 26 2020, hundreds of Black Lives Matter protestors flooded the streets of St Petersburg Florida to protest a grand jury decision not to indict the officers involved in the death of Breonna Taylor. 

As I'm sure you can imagine anytime there is a protest you will also find counter protesters. This combination created a tinderbox for a potential conflict.

As a group of protestors and counter protestors are walking down the street, a young man pulls out a knife and attempts to hide the knife near his leg. 

This is when a counter protester identified the threat and pulled his firearm. 

What is this counter protester allowed to do according to Florida Concealed Carry Law? Let’s ask ourselves the big questions. 

The Big Questions 

How Could this Situation Have Been Avoided? 

I personally do not attend protests or counter protests. I know that these types of environments pause people to become highly emotional and when emotions are running high logic runs low. I try to avoid these environments because I don’t wanna be put in a situation or something bad happens that’s going to affect the rest of my life. 

What Self Defense Options Could have been Used? 

If someone pulls out a knife and threatens to use it against myself or my family members I will not hesitate to use deadly force against that individual. I’m not sure what the protester was thinking or why he thought it was a good idea to pull out a knife but he received a very powerful reality check. They’re almost 2,000,000 concealed carry permit holders in the state of Florida so before you pull out a knife and threaten to stab someone with that you better understand there’s a good chance you’re going to get shot and killed. 

Does this Scenario Fall Under the Justified Use of Force Statute? 

To answer this question we will be looking at this incident through the eyes of the counter protester. This is because the counter protest or is the individual who was being unlawfully threatened with the use of deadly force. 

F.S. 776.012 (2) A person is justified in using or threatening to use deadly force if he or she reasonably believes that using or threatening to use such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony. A person who uses or threatens to use deadly force in accordance with this subsection does not have a duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground if the person using or threatening to use the deadly force is not engaged in a criminal activity and is in a place where he or she has a right to be.

Do you have a responsible belief of imminent death? Yes if someone is holding a knife and it is threatening to use that knife against me I would believe that I had a reasonable belief of eminent death. 

Do you have a responsible belief of the imminent commission of a forcible felony? 

F.S. 776.08 Forcible felony .—“Forcible felony” means treason; murder; manslaughter; sexual battery; carjacking; home-invasion robbery; robbery; burglary; arson; kidnapping; aggravated assault; aggravated battery; aggravated stalking; aircraft piracy; unlawful throwing, placing, or discharging of a destructive device or bomb; and any other felony which involves the use or threat of physical force or violence against any individual.

The two forcible felonies that stand out in this situation would be aggravated assault and aggravated battery. 

Aggravated Assault F.S. 784.021 (1) An "aggravated assault" is an assault: (a) with a deadly weapon without intent to kill; or (b) with an intent to commit a felony.

Aggravated Battery F.S. 784.045 (1)(a) A person commits aggravated battery who, in committing battery: (1) intentionally or knowingly causes great bodily harm, permanent disability or permanent disfigurement; or (2) uses a deadly weapon.

Is the use of deadly force necessary? Yes the threatened use of deadly force is immediately necessary in my opinion. For me the only way that you can stop the crazy person with a knife is to clearly demonstrate that you are capable of defending yourself by presenting your firearm from concealment. I don’t think discharging a firearm is necessary yet but that could quickly change based on the attackers next move. 

Are you in a place where you have a right to be? Yes the counter protester has a legal right to be at the protest. 

Are you engaged in criminal activity? At this time there is no information that would indicate that the counter protester was involved in criminal activity during the protest.

Where is the Line in the Sand? 

The line in the sand would be the point at which the counter protester or would have no other option but to use deadly force against the individual holding the knife. For me this would be if the attacker attempted to use a knife against myself or someone around me.

What Would You Do? 

What would you do if someone pulled out a knife and threatened to stab you in a large crowd? Do you carry your firearm 100% of the time you are legally allowed to? 

The Rest of The Story 

As soon as the attacker realized that the counter protester was a concealed carry permit holder he immediately ran from the scene. Thankfully this situation ended without shots being fired.

Immediately after this incident Rick Krisemam, the Mayor of St Petersburg, made the following statement

"Keep your guns, you're knives and your weapons at home." 

What a stupid statement from this mayor. If the concealed carry permit holder would’ve left his firearm at home he would’ve been stabbed by a ruthless wolf.

I refuse to ever allow something like this to happen to myself or my family which is why I choose to carry my firearm 100% of the time I am legally allowed to.

That's all I have for today. So until next time keep training and stay safe...

Ryan G. Thomas

P.S. You’re one step away from getting your Florida concealed carry permit….FAST & EASY…

And for a limited time you can watch the concealed carry course online for free... Click here to get started...