‘Not today, Jennifer’: Woman arrested for punching officer in the face during ICE operation

A Florida woman might have wished she were in Minneapolis instead of Jacksonville, Florida, Tuesday when she allegedly punched a state trooper in the face as she protested a neighborhood ICE operation.

And now she’s been arrested.

As reported at BlazeMedia, 40-year-old Jennifer Cruz didn’t appreciate ICE officers’ action at a Mexican grocery store on Beach Boulevard.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier posted about the incident:

“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.

“But unlike Minnesota, we don’t put up with this nonsense. Not today, Jennifer.”

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.

But unlike Minnesota, we don’t put up with this nonsense. Not today, Jennifer. pic.twitter.com/vw28UPJ9Kn

— Attorney General James Uthmeier (@AGJamesUthmeier) January 15, 2026

The owner of the Mi Pueblo Mexican grocery store spoke to WJXT-TV about the arrest that unfolded in front of his business.

“What I witnessed was a traffic stop by the state trooper,” Juan Alvarez 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.”

The Blaze reports that Cruz was charged with a slew of crimes, including resisting an officer with violence, battery on law enforcement and driving with a suspended driver’s license.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis emphasized the difference between law enforcement in his state and that of Gov. Tim Walz.

“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.”