Activism and protests The first
protest related to the shooting occurred on July 21 at the Circle A Food Store. A
vigil for McGlockton was held at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church the following afternoon, followed by a mass march from the church to the Circle A that evening. On July 25, community activists held a
fish fry at Circle A to raise money for McGlockton's family. On July 29, members of Allendale United Methodist Church in St. Petersburg created a
prayer circle in the middle of a busy intersection to protest the shooting. On August 5,
Al Sharpton and
Benjamin Crump led the Markeis McGlockton Rally for Justice at St. John Primitive Baptist Church. The
Tampa chapter of
Black Lives Matter organized a rally outside the church that was held at the same time. Supporters gathered with McGlockton's family and friends at the same park to celebrate what would have been Markeis's 29th birthday. On the one-year anniversary of McGlockton's
death anniversary, a memorial and vigil titled Justice for Markeis: A Legacy Never Forgotten was held at Mt. Zion United Methodist Church.
Color of Change created an
online petition directed to State Attorney McCabe, calling for the arrest of Michael Drejka. The petition received over 10,000 signatures by July 25, and had reached over 45,000 signatures when Drejka was charged with manslaughter on August 13. On July 31, the organization opened a state-level
political action committee as part of an effort to repeal Stand-Your-Ground in Florida. While advocating in favor of
Florida Amendment 4 in 2018,
Marissa Alexander mentioned the McGlockton case as an example of the state's
criminal justice issues.
Call for a DOJ investigation On July 27,
Democratic Party U.S. Senator Bill Nelson from Florida sent a letter to
Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Acting
Assistant Attorney General for
Civil Rights John M. Gore, requesting the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division Criminal Section to open an investigation into the shooting death of McGlockton. The letter was signed by Nelson and four fellow Democratic lawmakers: Senators
Kamala Harris from California and
Cory Booker from New Jersey; and
U.S. Representatives Charlie Crist and
Alcee Hastings,
who both represent Florida in the
13th district and
20th district, respectively. The
NAACP, along with its Florida State Conference and Clearwater/Upper Pinellas County Branch, called for a DOJ investigation as well.
Criticism of Gualtieri's decision Sheriff Gualtieri received
bipartisan criticism over his interpretation of Stand-Your-Ground and his decision to not arrest Drejka.
Republican Party Florida State Senators Dennis Baxley and
Rob Bradley, along with
Florida State Representative Bobby Payne, were also critical of Gualtieri's assertion. The Pinellas County
Green Party issued a statement, telling Gualtieri to "get the hell out of Pinellas!" Within a week of the shooting, protesters created chants and T-shirts calling for Gualtieri's removal from office. In a statement made after Drejka was charged by the State Attorney's Office, members of Black Lives Matter pledged to "continue examining the racist policies and practices of Sheriff Gualteri and the entire structure that allows for this type of
vigilantism to flourish."
Al Sharpton During his speech at the Markeis McGlockton Rally for Justice, Sharpton told the crowd "It is not the sheriff's job to determine whether Stand-Your-Ground applies. That ought to be decided in a courtroom and the state attorney's office." Sharpton suggested there was
racial bias in the case, saying "If you got to the scene, Mr. Sheriff, and Markeis had been standing over the white man, you would have cuffed him and taken him in jail." Sharpton then criticized Gualtieri: "(Drejka) killed an unarmed black man who was standing up for his family. Lock him up, or give up your badge." The paper's Kirby Wilson listed Sharpton's quote at No. 17 in "18 Tampa Bay quotes that captured 2018". During an unrelated press conference the day after the rally, Sheriff Gualtieri initially said he had no comment on the event. When asked by a reporter about Sharpton's criticism of him, Gualtieri responded: "It's a bunch of
rhetoric. I don't pay much attention to it to tell you the truth. I wasn't there, and I don't really care what Al Sharpton has to say. Go back to
New York. Mind your own business."
Politicians The shooting death of McGlockton prompted responses from politicians. Following Drejka's arrest,
Tampa Bay Times reported the shooting had become highly politicized.
Khary Penebaker,
Democratic National Committee Representative from
Wisconsin, wrote on Twitter: "Markeis McGlockton is dead & his shooter walks free, what the NRA wanted".
Cynthia McKinney, former Democratic
U.S. Representative from Georgia and
2008 presidential nominee of the Green Party, asked her
followers on Twitter: "What does this look like to you?"
David Jolly, former Republican U.S. Representative from Florida, said "You've seen response from elected officials who maybe believe he should have handled it differently but still generally support the sheriff. He has broad support across Pinellas County and across very diverse constituencies. This will be one of the chapters, but I don't think it will be the defining moment." General elections were held on November 6. Candidates in statewide and
local elections expressed their thoughts on the shooting, with some outlining their positions on stand-your-ground laws. Congressman
Charlie Crist briefly addressed the shooting at a Clearwater
town hall meeting on July 29, noting his call for a federal investigation into McGlockton's death. During the primary race for U.S. Senator of Florida,
outgoing Republican Governor
Rick Scott expressed sorrow for the family of McGlockton while campaigning at an event in
Lakeland, Florida; he placed emphasis on
Florida's crime rate, which he claimed to be at a 47-year low. During his governorship, Scott had been criticized for his inaction regarding stand-your-ground cases. Scott's opponent,
incumbent Democratic Senator Bill Nelson led a call for a federal investigation into the shooting, but did not immediately comment on SYG during
this election cycle. During the primary race for
Governor of Florida, five major Democratic candidates —
Andrew Gillum, Chris King,
Gwen Graham,
Jeff Greene and
Philip Levine — pledged to repeal SYG if they were elected governor. At a press conference in Clearwater on July 26, King said he believed race was a factor in the killing. King was in attendance at McGlockton's funeral. Gillum addressed the shooting at length during a town hall meeting in Clearwater on July 29. The following day, Gillum called on Governor Scott to declare a
state of emergency and suspend SYG until the
Florida Legislature can offer clarity on how and when the law should be applied. On the morning of August 5, Al Sharpton interviewed Greene and Gillum about the case on
PoliticsNation, prior to Sharpton's arrival in Clearwater for a McGlockton rally that afternoon. The campaigns of Greene, Levine, Gillum, Graham and King announced their intentions to attend the rally led by Sharpton. The five candidates spoke at the event and pledged to repeal SYG. On August 8, Gillum participated in a protest at Governor Scott's office in
Tallahassee, where he staged a
sit-in and sang "
We Shall Overcome", which his campaign
livestreamed on
Facebook. Also on August 8, King released a campaign ad titled "Change Hearts", which features his remarks from the August 5 rally. Republican gubernatorial candidate
Adam Putnam defended Sheriff Gualitieri's decision to not arrest Drejka, but later supported State Attorney McCabe's decision to charge Drejka with manslaughter.
Ron DeSantis, a supporter of SYG, initially remained silent about the case. In an
opinion piece published the day before the primary election, Peter Schorsch of
Orlando Rising listed the McGlockton shooting as one of the twenty-five defining moments of the gubernatorial primary. In a
Rolling Stone profile about Andrew Gillum published six days before the
general election,
Jamil Smith wrote that Gillum made Markeis McGlockton "a staple of his
stump speech." During the primary race for
Florida Attorney General, Democrats
Sean Shaw and Ryan Torrens both stated they planned to work towards their goal of repealing SYG. Shaw met with the McGlockton family and provided his
thoughts and prayers to them. Republicans
Ashley Moody and
Frank White both said they did not want to see the law change, though Moody showed sympathy for McGlockton's family. ==Alleged ethical issues==