Florida Man Allegedly Threatened to Plow Through ICE Protesters in Tow Truck, Deputies Claim
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (WFLA) — A Jacksonville man was arrested Wednesday after officials said he wrote a comment on a social media post saying he would “plow through” groups of anti-ICE protestors with a tow truck.
Deputies with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said a “vigilant citizen” alerted them to the “concerning comment.” It was posted in response to someone asking if there would be any protests happening in Jacksonville, Tampa or other major Florida cities.
The comment contained multiple misspellings and grammatical errors, and read in part, “Look as a Jacksonville resident of I see any large gatherings to protest ice I’m going to grab my buddies tow truck and plow through every ignant, un-american swine I see.”
Detectives quickly traced the account back to 26-year-old Zachary Degross. Authorities then went to Degross’ home to interview him Wednesday and said they gathered enough evidence to place him under arrest.
“Making a threat like the one Degross made is a felony,” the sheriff’s office said. “If you are making threats online to harm others, even if you don’t intend to follow through with that action, we will arrest you.”
Jail records show Degross was booked into the Duval County jail for sending a written threat to conduct an act of terrorism — a second-degree felony.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said it is monitoring protests nationwide and encourages anyone who sees a threat about harming others to report it immediately.
Anti-ICE protests have popped up across the United States in response to demonstrations in Los Angeles, where thousands of National Guard troops have been mobilized and tensions continued to escalate Wednesday.
