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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Authorities arrested a woman on Tuesday following an altercation with a Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) officer and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on Beach Boulevard, according to News4JAX, a partner of News 6.
The suspect, 40-year-old Jennifer Cruz, now faces numerous charges, as reflected in jail records. These include resisting an officer with violence, battery on law enforcement personnel, and driving with a suspended license, among others.
The announcement of Cruz’s arrest was made by Uthmeier on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, accompanied by a photograph showing two agents apprehending her outside the Mi Pueblo Mexican grocery store.
News4JAX interviewed Juan Alvarez, the owner of Mi Pueblo, who recounted witnessing the confrontation between Cruz and the officers.
“I observed a traffic stop conducted by the state trooper,” Alvarez shared. “ICE agents arrived alongside the trooper. They detained the driver, and it appeared an operation was underway. Subsequently, they attempted to detain another individual, which resulted in a violent altercation, prompting the arrival of additional police and federal officers.”
Alvarez also managed to capture part of the incident on video. Watch the video below
News4JAX spoke with Juan Alvarez, the owner of Mi Pueblo who said he saw the violent encounter between Cruz and law enforcement.
“What I witnessed was a traffic stop by the state trooper,” he said. “ICE agents showed up with the state trooper. They detained a driver, the person was driving, 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, and that led to the presence of a lot of more, you know, police, federal enforcement showing up.”
He also caught part of the arrest on camera. Press play below to watch the video
Alvarez and his family have owned the store and restaurant for years.
He said this is the first time he’s seen something like this happen right outside his business.
“Yeah, honestly, man, it was, about to say 12, 13, because it was a lot, and, like I said, more showed up. And all of the majority of them, I mean, I did see one or two wearing masks,” Alvarez said.
Cruz’s arrest comes amid multiple recent reports of increased immigration enforcement across Northeast Florida.
On Wednesday evening, immigration attorney Andrea Reyes held a livestream via Facebook to address the recent reported ICE raids that have taken place across the area and to inform people about their rights.
“I am hosting this livestream on behalf of those who have been detained, those who are still detained, and for our people who are living with so much fear,” Reyes said in Spanish as she struggled to hold back the tears. “I want us to be aware that this is not going to change overnight, with $170 billion… things are only going to get worse.”
On Thursday, Gov. Ron DeSantis held a health-related news conference in Jacksonville and was asked about the recent reports of increased ICE operations in Northeast Florida.
“We believe that we have a responsibility to help the laws of the country be enforced,” DeSantis said.
He also specifically addressed Cruz’s arrest.
“This is not Minneapolis. This is not going to end well for you in Florida. 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.”
News4JAX has requested Cruz’s arrest report to get more details regarding what exactly led to her arrest.
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