JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A woman was arrested Tuesday after she punched a Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) trooper in the face during an encounter with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on Beach Boulevard, according to Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier.
The woman, identified as 40-year-old Jennifer Cruz, is facing multiple charges, according to jail records, including resisting an officer with violence, battery on law enforcement, driving with a suspended driver’s license, and more.
Uthmeier announced the arrest via X, formerly known as Twitter, and also shared a picture showing two agents arresting Cruz outside a Mi Pueblo Mexican grocery store.
This is Jennifer Cruz of Jacksonville. 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.
— Attorney General James Uthmeier (@AGJamesUthmeier) January 15, 2026
But unlike Minnesota, we don’t put up with this nonsense. Not today, Jennifer. pic.twitter.com/vw28UPJ9Kn
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 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.