A grinning anti-ICE agitator was arrested after she allegedly punched a Florida state trooper during a confrontation with federal agents — drawing a blunt warning from Gov. Ron DeSantis that the Sunshine State “is not Minneapolis.”
Jennifer Cruz was arrested outside Mi Pueblo, a Mexican grocery store and meat market in Jacksonville, Tuesday morning after she allegedly jumped out of her car and punched a state trooper in the face while officers were working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said in a post on X.
“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.
“But unlike Minnesota, we don’t put up with this nonsense. Not today, Jennifer.”
Video taken by Mi Pueblo owner Juan Alvarez shows law enforcement officers swarming Cruz on the pavement and placing her in handcuffs.
“ICE agents showed up with the state trooper. They detained a driver — the person was driving — and they had an operation going on,” Alvarez told News 4 Jax.
“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,” he added.
Another shocking video shared on X appeared to show Cruz kicking and screaming as officers struggled to get her into a squad car, laughing and taunting police and calling one officer a “weak-ass motherf–ker.”
Footage shows her lying in the back seat before suddenly popping up and kicking the officer who was trying to restrain her.
“Don’t you dare start kicking me!” one officer is heard warning her.
Cruz was then tased as officers finally got her fully inside the car and slammed the door shut. However, her rampage didn’t stop there — with the footage showing her kicking the cruiser’s roof and the camera that was pointing into the backseat.
The 40-year-old was booked into the Duval County Jail on a slew of charges, including multiple counts of battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting officers with violence and threatening harm to officers, among others.
She was released on bond following her arrest and is scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 4.
Gov. Ron DeSantis weighed in on the arrest Thursday during a health-related news conference in Jacksonville, warning others considering interference with federal immigration operations to think twice — while also taking a jab at Minneapolis amid ongoing tensions following the killing of Renee Good by an ICE agent.
“This is not Minneapolis. This is not going to end well for you in Florida,” DeSantis vowed.
“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 post Grinning anti-ICE agitator arrested after allegedly punching Florida trooper as DeSantis warns: ‘This is not Minneapolis’ appeared first on New York Post.
