Smiling anti-ICE agitator accused of punching Florida trooper as DeSantis asserts 'This is not Minneapolis'
An anti-U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agitator in Florida was arrested after allegedly punching a troop in the face during an immigration enforcement operation.
"This is Jennifer Cruz of Jacksonville," Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier wrote in an X post, sharing an image of the woman, who appeared to smile as law enforcement restrained her.
Moments before she cracked a grin, video shows Cruz kicking toward a female officer while other law enforcement members had already placed her hands behind her back.
"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. But unlike Minnesota, we don’t put up with this nonsense. Not today, Jennifer," Uthmeier wrote.
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Footage shows a chaotic scene as authorities attempted to detain Cruz. As several officers placed her hands behind her back and walked her toward one of their vehicles, Cruz is seen attempting to kick another female officer nearby. Cruz then smirks as the officers detaining her place her on the hood of a vehicle. Once placed in the back of the vehicle,
A News4JAX reporter spoke to Juan Alvarez, the owner of the Mi Pueblo grocery store which was near where the incident occurred. He said he witnessed a traffic stop involving a state trooper.
"ICE agents showed up with the state trooper. They detained the driver," he said.
"And so yeah, they had an operation going on. And after that, they had detained another person. But it seems they got into an altercation with that person. It turned violent," he said, noting that more law enforcement showed up.
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis shared Uthmeier's post and wrote, "Really bad decision to attack one of our troopers. This isn’t Minneapolis…"
DeSantis also mentioned the incident at an unrelated press conference on Thursday.
"I do know that there was a woman who came out and assaulted one of our troopers," DeSantis said. "Let me just tell you guys this is not Minneapolis. That is not going to end well for you in Florida."
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., quipped in a post, "Never go full Jennifer."
"This is how it’s done. In Florida, we respect law enforcement and have no patience for far-left extremists who choose to defend dangerous criminals instead of their fellow Americans. This isn’t Minneapolis. In Florida, if you break the law, you will pay the consequences," Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., asserted on X.