A Florida woman was arrested this week after allegedly assaulting a state trooper during a confrontation involving federal immigration agents outside a Jacksonville grocery store, prompting a sharp warning from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis that similar conduct will not be tolerated in the state, as reported by The New York Post.
The incident occurred Tuesday morning outside Mi Pueblo, a Mexican grocery store and meat market in Jacksonville.
According to Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, 40-year-old Jennifer Cruz was taken into custody after allegedly jumping out of her vehicle and punching a Florida state trooper in the face while officers were assisting Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
“Jennifer disagrees with immigration enforcement and decided to commit a few felonies by getting out of her car and punching a trooper in the face,” Uthmeier wrote in a post on X.
“But unlike Minnesota, we don’t put up with this nonsense. Not today, Jennifer.”
Video recorded by Mi Pueblo owner Juan Alvarez showed law enforcement officers surrounding Cruz on the ground before placing her in handcuffs.
Alvarez told News 4 Jax that ICE agents and a state trooper were conducting an operation when the situation escalated.
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“ICE agents showed up with the state trooper. They detained a driver — the person was driving — and they had an operation going on,” Alvarez said.
“After that, they detained another person, and it seems they got into an altercation with that person. It turned violent, and that led to the presence of a lot more police and federal enforcement showing up.”
Additional video shared on social media appeared to show Cruz resisting arrest, yelling at officers, and laughing while taunting police.
In the footage, she can be seen kicking and screaming as officers attempted to place her into a squad car. At one point, Cruz called an officer a “weak-ass motherf–ker,” according to the video.
The footage also showed Cruz lying in the back seat of the patrol car before suddenly sitting up and kicking an officer who was attempting to restrain her.
“Don’t you dare start kicking me!” one officer is heard warning her.
Moments later, Cruz was tased as officers worked to secure her inside the vehicle and shut the door. The video showed that she continued kicking the roof of the cruiser and the camera mounted inside the back seat after the door was closed.
Cruz was booked into the Duval County Jail on multiple charges, including several counts of battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting officers with violence, and threatening harm to officers.
Jail records show she was later released on bond and is scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 4.
Gov. DeSantis addressed the arrest on Thursday during a health-related news conference in Jacksonville, issuing a warning to others who may consider interfering with federal immigration enforcement operations.
“This is not Minneapolis. This is not going to end well for you in Florida,” DeSantis said. “You have a right to go out there and criticize government policy.
You can go out there and protest within respected zones, but the idea that you’re going to assault one of our troopers is unacceptable, and you are going to face consequences as a result of that.”
The governor’s comments referenced ongoing national tensions tied to immigration enforcement and recent unrest in other states.
Florida officials emphasized that cooperation between state law enforcement and federal immigration authorities will continue and that assaults on officers will be prosecuted.
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