Jacksonville woman arrested after allegedly punching trooper during ICE confrontation
By: -----
Jacksonville, FL - A Jacksonville woman is facing more than a dozen charges after allegedly attacking law enforcement officers during a confrontation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
Jennifer Cruz was booked into the Duval County jail on Tuesday, Jan. 13.
In a post on X, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier posted a photo showing Cruz being restrained by ICE agents in front of Mi Pueblo, a Mexican grocery store and meat market on Beach Boulevard.
"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," Uthmeier wrote. "But unlike Minnesota, we don’t put up with this nonsense. Not today, Jennifer."
Her charges include multiple counts of battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting officers with violence and a count of threatening harm to officers, among others.
According to a release by the Department of Justice, Cruz had seen agents in the process of conducting a traffic stop and pulled out her cellphone to record while driving.
Agents approached Cruz, where the DOJ says agents spoke to her "about using her cell phone while driving," to which she is described as having been "argumentative and standoffish."
The DOJ says that when viewing Cruz's driver's license, agents noted that it had been suspended since June 2025. Shortly after, Cruz is said to have driven away before agents followed and attempted to detain her.
After her vehicle was boxed in, the DOJ says that an agent had attempted to retrieve her keys before she "struck the trooper in the face with a closed fist" after stating that she was "ready to go." She was placed detained moments after.