Influencer Hit With Misdemeanor Charges for Shooting Dead Gator in Florida

I try to pay as little attention possible to “influencers” in general, but 20-year-old Braden Peters, better known as “Clavicular,” popped up on my news feed this week after landing himself in hot water for a gun-involved incident in Florida.

Peters is facing misdemeanor charges for allegedly opening fire on a dead alligator while livestreaming in the Florida Everglades back in March. 

There were reports at the time that Peters was under investigation for the incident, but according to the Miami New Times, charges weren’t formally filed until late April. 

BREAKING: Popular live streamer Clavicular is currently under investigation for allegedly committing a felony after unloading on a gator in the Everglades pic.twitter.com/TeW3Lzoyhv

— Crime Net (@TRIGGERHAPPYV1) March 27, 2026

Peters isn’t being charged for shooting the dead gator. Instead, he’s facing a misdemeanor count of reckless discharge of a firearm, according to the paper. 

Court records show that Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Rundle’s office filed charges against the 20-year-old manosphere figure and “looksmaxxer,” whose real name is Braden Peters. According to the documents (which are attached at the bottom of this story), Peters “did unlawfully and knowingly discharge a firearm in a public place or on or over the right-of-way of a public paved road, highway, or street, or over occupied premises” at the Everglades and Francis S. Taylor Wildlife Management Area in South Florida, in violation of Florida law.

That’s bad news for those hoping for a lengthy prison stint, if only to keep “Clavicular” out of the news cycle for a while. While the misdemeanor charge comes with a potential penalty of up to one year in jail, I would be surprised if he isn’t offered a plea deal that amounts to a fine and probation, if not community service. 

It is, however, the second misdemeanor charge for the young influencer that’s been filed this year. In March, Peters was arrested on a misdemeanor battery charge involving a young woman. 

Osceola County Sheriff’s Office officials said Peters and a woman identified as 24-year-old Violet Marie Lentz are accused of participating in the battery of a 19-year-old woman at a short-term rental home near Kissimmee.

The 19-year-old was allegedly battered by Lentz in the home that was rented by Peters, and detectives determined Peters instigated the fight and posted it on social media to exploit the two women, the sheriff’s office said.

Peters is due in court on May 20 for a hearing on the reckless discharge of a firearm charge, and his attorneys have already previewed Peters’ defense. 

“Our client has been summoned to appear for a misdemeanor charge that stems from following the instructions of a licensed airboat guide. He relied on that guidance. No animals or people were harmed. We are confident that once the full picture is understood, people will see this for what it is,” the statement read.

I don’t know about you, but I see it as Peters and his co-defendants Andrew Morales (aka “Cuban Tarzan”) and Yabdiel Anibal Cotto Torres looking for content and doing something pretty stupid without thinking about the consequences. I’m not an attorney, but I don’t think the defense his lawyers have offered makes much sense given that Peters is charged with reckless discharge of a firearm; shooting a gun “in a public place or on or over the right-of-way of a public paved road, highway, or street, or over occupied premises.” 

You can’t really blame that on someone else saying it was okay to shoot. If you’re carrying a gun, it’s up to you to know the statutes that are implicated when you pull the trigger. Maybe we should call that “lawmaxxing.”

My guess is that Peters is gonna skate with a slap on the wrist here. Whether he learns any lessons from this incident remains to be seen, but I sincerely hope that his days of being dumb with a gun are over… and not just because I really don’t want to have to write about him anymore. 

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