Jacksonville Woman Pleads Guilty to Assaulting Officers Conducting Immigration Operation

Jacksonville, Florida - Jennifer Susan Cruz (41, Jacksonville) has pleaded guilty to assaulting officers conducting an immigration operation. She faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set. U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement.

According to court documents, on January 13, 2026, federal immigration officers, assisted by the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP), were conducting an operation in Jacksonville to locate and administratively arrest aliens who were illegally present in the United States. Cruz was driving by and recording on her cellphone as an FHP trooper was pulling over a vehicle for a traffic infraction. Cruz parked near the site of the traffic stop and yelled at the trooper as she continued to record. Immigration officers subsequently determined that the two occupants of the vehicle they had pulled over were illegally present in the United States.

Another trooper approached Cruz and spoke with her about using her cellphone while driving. During this interaction, Cruz was argumentative and recorded the encounter on her cellphone. The trooper told Cruz that he had no issue with her recording and that his concern was solely her unsafe and unlawful use of a cellphone while operating a motor vehicle. Cruz made unsolicited and inflammatory statements, asking whether the trooper supported the "Nazis," which she clarified as referring to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and asking him not to shoot her in the face. The trooper advised Cruz that ICE officers were present in an official capacity and that he was not there to discuss personal or political beliefs, but solely to address her traffic violation.

The trooper asked Cruz for her driver license and she stated that she did not have it but that she had a photograph of it on her cellphone. Cruz showed the trooper the photo of her license and the trooper told Cruz to remain in her vehicle while he conducted further investigation. A records check revealed that Cruz's license was suspended as of June 17, 2025. Because Cruz's license was suspended, the trooper requested a tow truck to impound Cruz's vehicle, as she was not legally authorized to operate it.

While the trooper was waiting for the tow truck, Cruz drove away. Multiple troopers immediately activated their emergency lights and sirens and maneuvered their patrol vehicles to box in Cruz's vehicle. After the vehicle was stopped, the trooper advised Cruz that the traffic stop had not been concluded and that her vehicle was going to be towed because her license was suspended. The trooper told Cruz to exit the vehicle and surrender the keys so that the vehicle could be released to the towing company.

Cruz exited the vehicle but immediately became verbally hostile and repeatedly refused to surrender the keys despite multiple directives to do so. In response to the trooper's directives, Cruz said that she was "ready to go" and, when asked, stated that she meant that she was ready to fight. When a trooper attempted to retrieve the keys from Cruz, Cruz struck the trooper in the face with a closed fist. Multiple officers then converged on Cruz to arrest her for the assault. Cruz resisted arrest, including by attempting to strike and kick the officers. As Cruz continued to struggle, officers carried her to an FHP patrol vehicle. While doing so, she attempted to kick the trooper whom she had punched.

As officers were attempting to place Cruz inside the vehicle, she kicked at an ICE officer, a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agent, and the trooper who had conducted the traffic stop. She struck the CBP agent and the ICE officer, whose left hand was injured. During the attempt to place Cruz in the patrol vehicle, the trooper deployed his taser, which did not subdue her. Officers eventually secured Cruz in the patrol vehicle, but she continued kicking at the vehicle's windows, roof, and in-car camera.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Enforcement and Removal Operations, and the Florida Highway Patrol. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Arnold B. Corsmeier.