A local organization protested outside a Gainesville-based robotics company Wednesday in response to the U.S. Army awarding the business millions of dollars for drone development.
In recognition of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 85th birthday, the Gainesville Coalition for Peace set out to raise awareness about what members believe is misallocated taxpayer money being spent on military projects instead of community betterment.
The protest began at about 11 a.m. outside of Prioria Robotics, located at 606 SE Depot Ave.
Participants walked on the sidewalk with signs chanting, “Hey hey, ho ho, killer drones have to go.”
Cassandra Morrison, a tutor at Circle of Love Tutoring Services and a member of the coalition, said the dollars could go a long way in helping members of the community, like students.
“Many of my (students) are going without,” she said. “They’re hungry, and they don’t have the skills they need.”
Morrison said they chose to protest on King’s birthday because it would have been important to him, had he been alive today.
“This was a man that was against war, and he chose peaceful means to make sure his message got across,” Morrison said.
Prioria Robotics has tried to reach out to the coalition, said company CEO Bryan da Frota.
The group was invited to discuss the issue.
But members did not want to participate.
In the almost 11 years that the company has been in Gainesville, da Frota said, it has put more than $20 million back into the local economy.
The coalition is trying to make it seem as if Prioria is not wanted in the area, he said.
But da Frota noted that the residents allowed the company to be in Gainesville in the first place.
“The community had a discussion as to whether we were going to be here, and they said yes,” da Frota said. “I think the city agrees. I think the people agree.”
However, protesters still think the money could be used elsewhere.
“There’s literally millions of federal dollars going towards making drones,” said UF English sophomore Farah Khan. “Money could be going towards working families who aren’t able to put food on the table.”
For Khan, the issue is also a personal one.
As a Pakistani, she said she’s worried about her family living in Pakistan because the country has experienced numerous drone attacks.
“It’s a really dehumanizing process,” she said.
Prioria Robotics moved into its current loation, a former GRU warehouse on Depot Avenue, in February.
It has operated in Gainesville for about 10 years.
A version of this story ran on page 4 on 1/16/2014 under the headline "Locals protest drone development"
Veterans for Peace Vice President John Fullerton (left), 72, and retired social worker Miriam Elliot, 62, protest Wednesday outside of Prioria Robotics.
