JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A woman accused of punching a Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) trooper and kicking an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer during a traffic stop on Beach Boulevard last week will appear for a detention hearing Thursday afternoon after she was indicted this week by a federal grand jury.
Jennifer Cruz, 40, faces a federal charge of assaulting a federal officer. She appeared in federal court on Wednesday and was ordered to be held in the custody of the U.S. Marshals until Thursday’s detention hearing.
According to an arrest report obtained by News4JAX, Cruz has also been charged with 14 state crimes, including battery on an officer, resisting an officer and driving with a suspended license.
The report says that Cruz challenged law enforcement during the traffic stop on Beach Boulevard, telling them “she was ready to fight” before her arrest turned into a violent encounter.
According to the arrest report, around 8 a.m. on Jan. 13, a trooper saw Cruz driving a white Dodge Ram on Beach Boulevard while holding a cellphone and recording, tailgating a car and a marked patrol car “in a manner that interfered with her ability to safely operate the vehicle.”
Cruz then followed the trooper into the parking lot of a shopping plaza and started yelling at him, the report says.
The trooper continued to ask Cruz for her identification, and she provided a photo of her driver’s license. After doing a records check, the trooper found that her Florida driver’s license was suspended as of June 17, 2025, for financial responsibility.
Around 8:22 a.m., while the traffic stop was still ongoing, Cruz “willfully drove away without permission,” and marked patrol vehicles activated emergency equipment to stop Cruz, having to “box her in,” the report says.
Officials said after Cruz was stopped again, she was ordered to get out of the car and hand over her keys.
She then exited the car, but refused to give troopers her keys.
“Cruz then stated she was ready to fight,” the arrest report reads.
When one of the troopers tried to grab her keys, Cruz punched her in the face “with a closed fist,” causing injuries to her nose and fingers, according to the arrest report.
After that, Cruz continued to refuse to comply with law enforcement commands and resisted arrest “by tensing her body,” the report says.
While being escorted to the patrol car, Cruz tried to kick the same trooper she had punched earlier. Then, while officers tried to secure her in the patrol vehicle, she kicked an ICE officer and a U.S. Customs Air and Marine Interdiction agent, according to the report.
“Due to Cruz’s continued violent resistance, a taser was deployed in drive-stun mode without effect, and she was placed in a hobble restraint for safety,” the report says.
According to the report, the trooper who was punched in the face required hospital treatment.
Cruz was transported to Duval County jail and later released on bail. However, FHP confirmed with News4JAX that she was arrested again on Friday.
According to FHP, Cruz was a passenger in a car that was stopped by JSO during a traffic violation, and when the occupants’ names were searched in the system, Cruz’s name popped up with an active federal warrant.
Cruz was arrested and taken into custody at the Duval County jail.
News4JAX has requested the arrest report for Cruz’s second arrest, and we are still waiting to hear back.
Dashcam videos circulating on social media since last Friday also provided more insight into Cruz’s arrest, including a 13-second video shared by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier on X.
In that video, Cruz can be seen attempting to kick a trooper, but it doesn’t connect. A trooper then slams Cruz on the hood of the patrol car as they put handcuffs on her, and then it ends.
The videos that have been shared do not show the punch that Cruz is accused of in her arrest report.
Uthmeier announced Cruz’s arrest on Thursday via X, formerly known as Twitter, and also shared a picture showing two agents arresting Cruz outside a Mi Pueblo Mexican grocery store.
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 more police, federal enforcement showing up.”
He also caught part of the arrest on camera. Press play below to watch the video
Cruz’s arrest came amid multiple recent reports of increased immigration enforcement across Northeast Florida.
Gov. Ron DeSantis also addressed Cruz’s arrest during a news conference in Jacksonville last week.
“This is not Minneapolis. This is not going to end well for you in Florida,” DeSantis said. “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.”