Florida sheriff's warning to violent protesters: 'We will kill you graveyard dead'
Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey issued a harsh warning Thursday to protesters who use violence in his county: 'We will kill you graveyard dead.'
Speaking at a news conference with Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, Ivey said peaceful protests 'are part of our democracy' and allowed, but anyone who uses violence or interferes with law enforcement will be met with force, potentially lethal force.
'Throw a brick, a firebomb or point a gun at one of our deputies, we will be notifying your family where to collect your remains at,' he said. 'Because we will kill you graveyard dead. We're not going to play.'
Ivey spoke as protests over the Trump administration's immigration policies have rocked Los Angeles and popped up in other cities and as nationwide protests against the president's actions are planned for Saturday.
The sheriff, in office since 2013, said if anyone tries to mob a car, they will likely be run over and dragged across the street. If anyone strikes a deputy, they will be going to the hospital and likely will be bitten by one of the agency's 'big, beautiful' dogs, he added.
'If you let it turn violent — whoa, you do not want to do that in Brevard County. I'm going to tell you that,' he said. 'You don't want to let it happen.'
He later said, 'I don't want to hear any whining later saying 'we didn't know'.'
Ivey and Uthmeier both spoke from a podium emblazoned with the words, 'Florida: The anti-riot state.'
The press conference was held ahead of the planned nationwide 'No Kings' protests against the Trump administration on Saturday. Multiple protests are scheduled to take place around Central Florida, including in Orlando, Apopka, Kissimmee and Lake Mary.
Ivey said 'riots' were already happening across the country, with law enforcement officers, including agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, targeted. Both Ivey and Uthmeier reaffirmed their support for ICE.
Uthmeier said Florida is not like California, where the Trump administration has deployed the National Guard and will be deploying U.S. Marines following protests against deportation operations being carried out by ICE.
'We have a great collaborative operation with the feds, with ICE, and we're very, very proud to support them,' Uthmeier said.
'We are not California. We do not allow rioting in the state of Florida,' he said.
Just before he stepped down from the podium, Ivey reiterated his warning one last time.
'Go protest all you want. Do it peacefully. Stand on the mountaintops and yell your opinion, your views,' he said. 'We invite that, but don't you dare break the law, because it won't go well for you.'
___
© 2025 Orlando Sentinel.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Politico
an hour ago
- Politico
Trump promised to break California water. So far he hasn't.
SACRAMENTO, California — President Donald Trump promised to break California's water rules wide open. So far, he's mostly working within them. Five months after Trump issued a pair of directives for federal agencies to overturn state and Biden-era rules limiting water deliveries, the federal government has done no such thing. Instead, it's quietly increasing water flows following the very rules Trump once railed against — at least for now. It's a sharp contrast to Trump's otherwise confrontational posture towards California and climate policy. In just the last week, he rescinded the state's authority to phase out gas-powered vehicles and sent the National Guard into Los Angeles over Gov. Gavin Newsom's objections. It's also a sharp contrast to Trump's campaign rhetoric, when he vowed to force Newsom to reverse a lawsuit blocking his first-term effort to loosen environmental protections in the state's main water hub, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. But Trump seems mollified now, declaring victory over the state at a White House event last week. The president brought up the familiar theme of water flowing out to the Pacific Ocean instead of being used in farms and cities, called it 'ridiculous' and declared of the water: 'We got them to take it now.' What's changed? For one, California had a wet winter, which tends to smooth over political differences. And the Trump administration suffered an early headline-grabbing debacle in February when it dumped summer irrigation water from Central Valley dams in a misguided effort to send it to fires in Los Angeles. Newsom has also aligned himself more with Trump on water, as when he jilted Delta-area Democrats last month in pushing to expedite a tunnel to move more supplies from Northern to Southern California. More substantively, some of the water districts that might be expected to agitate for Trump to overturn Biden-era water rules concede that they actually allow more deliveries than Trump's version. 'Our goal really is to try and implement some of the adaptive management and other actions that are in the [Biden-era rules] that provide some flexibility to benefit water supply and the fishery as well,' said Thaddeus Bettner, the executive director of the Sacramento River Settlement Contractors, a group of municipal and agricultural water districts in the northern Central Valley. So even though Trump's January directives gave federal officials the option to redo the Biden-era rules, they haven't done that so far — avoiding both lawsuits and negative headlines. The January orders also directed federal water agencies to write a report within 90 days on how to deliver on Trump's promises, but the White House is keeping that quiet, as well, declining to release it publicly. 'Less than a month into his second term, President Trump turned on the water to prevent another tragedy like the recent California wildfires, and he has urged Democrats like Gavin Newsom to adopt policies that better maintain our nation's forests,' White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in an email. 'He will continue to protect America's abundant natural resources, and updates to our water policy will come from him.' Environmental groups in the sensitive Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, however, aren't buying the quiet approach. They say the Trump administration is still violating endangered species rules, pointing to examples when federal officials pumped more water out of the Delta than state officials, killing or injuring protected species of salmon and trout in the process. 'Reclamation's behavior is cause for extreme concern for the health of the Bay-Delta and for the communities and people who care about and depend on this ecosystem,' the groups wrote in a letter last month to state water officials. (Bureau of Reclamation spokesperson Mary Lee Knecht said the agency 'continues to operate the Central Valley Project to maximize water supply and hydropower in full compliance' with the Biden-era rules.) There are a couple opportunities coming up for Trump to make more of a splash. He has yet to nominate a Bureau of Reclamation commissioner, who could sway the agency one way or the other. And on Tuesday, state and federal lawyers are due to update a judge on whether they want to continue the lawsuit Newsom lodged against Trump in 2020. Water agencies that have been mostly laudatory of Trump are still restive. Westlands Water District's general manager, Allison Febbo, called the Trump administration's latest projected increase in summer water allocations, from 50 to 55 percent, 'disappointing' given that reservoirs are filled to the brim. 'The operations quagmire that has contributed to the self-inflicted water crisis we have in this state, and reconfirmed by the Biden administration before leaving office, are still wreaking havoc on the water projects,' Johnny Amaral, chief of external affairs at the Friant Water Authority, said in a text message. 'Every minute that goes by is a lost opportunity to end the crisis, and the clock is ticking.' Like this content? Consider signing up for POLITICO's California Climate newsletter.
San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
What to know about the shooting death at a Utah 'No Kings' rally
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The 'No Kings' protest in Salt Lake City was struck by violence when a man allegedly brandished a rifle near the crowd, prompting someone nearby to fire three shots, hitting that man and a protester who later died. Police said that Arturo Gamboa, 24, never shot his rifle, but that he was arrested on a murder charge and accused of creating the dangerous situation that led to the death of protester Arthur Folasa Ah Loo. The investigation includes whether the man who shot Gamboa and Ah Loo was justified in firing his gun, the Salt Lake City Police Department said Monday. Questions remain over why Gamboa was carrying a rifle and whether the man who shot him, who police have not publicly identified, was part of an organized safety team for the demonstration or acting on his own initiative. Here's what is known so far about the shooting at the otherwise peaceful protest. How did the shooting unfold? Hundreds of protesters were marching through downtown Salt Lake City on Saturday when, around 8 p.m., two men said they spotted Gamboa, who was wearing all black clothing, move behind a wall and then withdraw a rifle from a backpack, according to a news release from police. The two men drew their handguns and ordered Gamboa to drop the rifle, but witnesses said the young man instead moved toward the crowd and held his rifle in a 'firing position," according to police. One of the two men shot three rounds, hitting Gamboa and Ah Loo. Gamboa's wound was relatively minor and he was arrested nearby by police, who found a rifle, gas mask and backpack in the area. Ah Loo died after being taken to a hospital. Police said they don't yet know why Gamboa carried a rifle or disobeyed the orders from the two men. The Associated Press could not immediately find attorney listed for Gamboa or contact information for his family in public records. Was the man who shot Gamboa and Ah Loo a 'peacekeeper'? The two men who confronted Gamboa wore neon green vests and one of them later described himself to investigators as a 'peacekeeper." However, police said they don't yet know whether the two men were brought in by the event's organizers or were acting on their own initiative, adding that there's no indication that the men were current or former members of law enforcement. Protests often have safety teams — sometimes called safety marshals — that help keep order during a demonstration. For the 'No Kings' protests, all attendees, including those in safety roles, were asked not to bring weapons, said Sarah Parker, a national coordinator for 50501 Movement, which helped organize the demonstrations. The permit for the protest did not say that there would be armed security, police said. Who was the protestor who was killed? Ah Loo was a successful fashion designer and former 'Project Runway' contestant who devoted his life to celebrating artists from the Pacific Islands. Benjamin Powell, a friend of Ah Loo's, said the designer was born in Samoa but lived in Utah for about a decade. Ah Loo, who was a self-taught designer known to many as Afa, devoted his life to doing 'good things for his neighbors and community,' state Rep. Verona Mauga, a close friend, told The Associated Press. Their families were from the small village of Lotopa in Samoa, she said. The 39-year-old leaves behind a wife and two young children, according to a GoFundMe page for his family. Powell said he and Ah Loo were working on an upcoming August fashion show, which Powell said will now honor Ah Loo's unwavering commitment to his community.
Washington Post
an hour ago
- Washington Post
Trump officials reverse guidance exempting farms, hotels from immigration raids
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Monday told staff it was reversing guidance issued last week that agents were not to conduct immigration raids at farms, hotels and restaurants — a decision that stood at odds with President Donald Trump's calls for mass deportations of anyone without legal status. Officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including its Homeland Security Investigations division, told leaders at the agency in a call Monday that agents must continue conducting workforce site immigration raids on agricultural businesses, hotels and restaurants, according to two people familiar with the call. The new instructions were shared in an 11 a.m. call to representatives from 30 field offices across the country. ICE and HSI field office supervisors began learning about the likelihood of a reversal in the exemption policy Sunday after hearing from DHS leadership that the White House did not support it, according to one person with knowledge of the reversal. An official from DHS had sent an email on Thursday telling agents to 'hold on all worksite enforcement investigations/operations on agriculture (including aquaculture and meat packing plants), restaurants and operating hotels.' That message went out hours after Trump had suggested he was sympathetic to concerns raised by farmers and hospitality executives about his deportation plan. The Washington Post spoke with four people who confirmed a call was held Monday with the agency's leadership. 'There will be no safe spaces for industries who harbor violent criminals or purposely try to undermine ICE's efforts,' Tricia McLaughlin, an assistant secretary for DHS, said Monday. 'Worksite enforcement remains a cornerstone of our efforts to safeguard public safety, national security and economic stability.' ICE has been under significant pressure from White House officials to ramp up arrests in an effort to fulfill Trump's goal of enacting the largest domestic deportation operation in history. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller said last month that the administration wants ICE to make a minimum of 3,000 arrests a day. In an interview last week, Trump border czar Tom Homan told The Post that arrests had increased to around 2,000 a day. Trump had been pulled in two directions on the issue, recently coming under pressure from executives in the agriculture and hospitality industries to loosen up on a sweeping deportation policy that was costing them migrant workers. The president on Thursday wrote on social media that 'changes are coming' to help 'protect our Farmers' from losing workers, though a White House official told The Post at the time that no actual policy changes were being proposed by the White House. Miller, an architect of much of Trump's aggressive immigration policy, had privately opposed carving out exceptions for certain industries who rely heavily on workers without legal status, according to two people with knowledge of his advocacy in recent days against the measure. Brooke Rollins, the agriculture secretary, meanwhile had been on the opposite side of the issue, stressing to Trump concerns that those in the farming industry had raised about losing workers. Some immigration experts say that ICE would need to ramp up worksite enforcement to meet the administration's ambitious arrest quotas. Past raids at meatpacking plants, for instance, have led to hundreds of arrests at once. Other labor intensive industries are farms, factories and clothing manufacturers, among others. The June 12 memo acknowledged that avoiding these large-scale employers would hinder ICE officers' efforts, saying 'We acknowledge that by taking this off the table, that we are eliminating a significant # of potential targets.' In the weeks since Miller's announcement about ramping up arrests, business and industry groups had been heavily lobbying the White House, as well as Senate and congressional offices pleading for an end to the crackdown. Rebecca Shi, chief executive of the American Business Immigration Coalition, said the pause officials put in place last week had signaled to many employers that the president was 'open to a solution.' Trump on Sunday night made a post on his Truth Social account that he said amounted to an order for ICE officials 'to do all in their power to achieve the very important goal of delivering the single largest Mass Deportation Program in History' which he said would require them to 'expand efforts to detain and deport Illegal Aliens in America's largest Cities.' Asked about the post and whether ICE would continue to conduct raids in areas outside of large Democratic cities, a White House official said 'while we will expand efforts in sanctuary cities, President Trump remains committed to enforcing federal immigration law — anyone present in the United States illegally is at risk of deportation.' Maria Sacchetti contributed to this report.
