Ron DeSantis has had enough of anti-ICE agitators disrupting law enforcement operations.
One Jacksonville woman just learned that Florida isn't Minneapolis.
And Ron DeSantis dropped the hammer on an ICE protester after she made this one awful move.
Cruz punched trooper during ICE operation on Beach Boulevard
Jennifer Cruz spotted Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents conducting a traffic stop at Mi Pueblo, a Mexican grocery store on Jacksonville's Beach Boulevard.
She pulled out her cellphone and started recording while driving — then tailgated a marked Florida Highway Patrol car to get a better view.
The trooper pulled Cruz over in the parking lot to discuss her unsafe cellphone use.
That's when Cruz told the trooper she didn't have her license — only a picture on her phone.
A records check revealed her license had been suspended since June 17, 2025, and the trooper called for a tow truck.
Cruz drove away before the tow truck arrived.
She made it about 200 feet before troopers boxed in her vehicle and ordered her to exit.
Cruz stepped out of her Ram pickup and told officers she was "ready to go."
Then she punched the trooper in the face with a closed fist.
DeSantis sends message to anti-ICE mob
Dashcam footage shows multiple officers swarming Cruz as she kicked and screamed obscenities.
Officers struggled to get her into the patrol car as she continued fighting.
"Don't you dare start kicking me!" one trooper warned as Cruz laughed and called him a "weak-ass motherf****r."
The video shows officers deploying a Taser after Cruz kept kicking at them while handcuffed in the backseat.
She faces eight felony charges and six misdemeanors, including battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting officers with violence, and threatening harm to officers.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier posted a photo of Cruz grinning during her arrest.
"This is Jennifer Cruz of Jacksonville," Uthmeier wrote 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."
"But unlike Minnesota, we don't put up with this nonsense," he added. "Not today, Jennifer."
https://twitter.com/AGJamesUthmeier/status/2011800589882061213?s=20
Governor Ron DeSantis made the same point even more bluntly at a news conference.
"I do know 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," he continued. "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."
DeSantis emphasized what separates Florida from Democrat-run Minnesota during an appearance on Sean Hannity's show.
"This is not Portland, where you can do this, get slapped on the wrist, then just get put right back on the street to do it again," DeSantis told Hannity. "If you do that, you're gonna be on the working end of a jail cell."
https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/2012352212404445272?s=20
The stark contrast between Florida and Minnesota couldn't be clearer.
Minneapolis descended into chaos after an ICE agent shot a woman who Department of Homeland Security officials said tried to run over the officer with her SUV.
Violent protests erupted across the city, with demonstrators throwing objects at federal officers, pouring water on roads to create ice hazards, and damaging hotel windows.
President Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act to deploy the military to Minneapolis after Democrat Governor Tim Walz failed to control the violence.
A federal judge even ordered ICE agents to stop using crowd control munitions against "peaceful demonstrators."
Florida took the opposite approach.
The Sunshine State has the nation's most extensive cooperation with ICE through Operation Tidal Wave — the largest joint immigration enforcement operation in ICE history.
More than 10,400 illegal aliens were arrested through the program's 287(g) agreements, which allow Florida law enforcement officers to exercise federal immigration authority.
That includes 3,435 from Guatemala and 3,331 from Mexico.
Florida signed 325 agreements with ICE to enforce federal immigration laws — a 577% increase since Trump's inauguration and more than any other state in the nation.
The Florida Highway Patrol, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and sheriff's offices across all 67 counties work directly with ICE to identify, detain, and process illegal aliens, including those with serious criminal convictions or final deportation orders.
Attorney General Uthmeier made clear what happens to protesters who interfere with those operations.
"Here in Florida, we're not messing around," Uthmeier said on Fox Business. "We don't tolerate this crap. We're never going to be Minnesota."
"If you want to harass and impede a law enforcement investigation, you are going to get arrested and you are going to do serious time," he added. "This woman, Jennifer, she's looking at state and federal charges, and we're going to make an example here."
"If you want to get in the way of ICE's activities, you are going to pay the price," Uthmeier concluded. "We want them here. We believe in safety. We are going to enforce rule of law."
https://twitter.com/AGJamesUthmeier/status/2012330352115634278?s=20
Cruz learned that Florida handles violent protesters differently than Minnesota.
She's facing serious prison time while anti-ICE protesters in Minnesota get off with a federal judge telling ICE to back down.
DeSantis showed exactly how law-and-order governors respond when radicals assault police officers trying to protect their communities.
Sources:
- Sandy Fitzgerald, "DeSantis: Attacks on ICE Agents, Police Won't Be Tolerated," Newsmax, January 16, 2026.
- A.G. Gancarski, "Ron DeSantis, James Uthmeier take illegal immigration fight to cable news," Florida Politics, January 17, 2026.
- Joshua Nelson, "DeSantis addresses Jacksonville official who warned public of ICE presence," Fox News, January 16, 2026.
- Lowell Cauffiel, "'Not Minneapolis': Florida Anti-ICE Agitator Booked on Multiple Charges After Allegedly Punching Cop," Breitbart, January 16, 2026.
- "NOT IN THE SUNSHINE STATE: Anti-ICE Agitator Busted After Alleged Trooper Attack in FL," Hannity.com, January 16, 2026.
- "New details | Jacksonville woman arrested after allegedly punching trooper during ICE confrontation," First Coast News, January 15, 2026.
- "Governor Ron DeSantis Highlights Success of Florida-Federal Immigration Partnership," Florida Governor's Press Office, January 6, 2026.
