Gov. Ron DeSantis' Thursday press conference was crashed by a protestor blasting Alligator Alcatraz and accusing Republican leaders of being "pedophiles."
The unidentified middle-aged white man interrupted DeSantis just minutes after the Bradenton press conference began. He cut off DeSantis, who was reminiscing about the newly deceased Hulk Hogan's "Wrestlemania," to criticize conservatives for endorsing Alligator Alcatraz, the new migrant detention center in the Everglades.
"Is that your fucking legacy?" the man yelled at DeSantis, who quickly directed security to remove the disruptor. "You bow down to a fucking pedophile—you're a fucking pedophile! Donald Trump, all of you are."
"Fuck you all," he added as officers escorted him outside.
The Miami Herald reported that Alligator Alcatraz had over 700 detainees as of July 13, though the center has a 5,000-bed capacity. First pitched by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier in late June, Alligator Alcatraz was constructed in just eight days.
State leaders converted the 39-square-mile Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport into the nation's newest detention center, located in the middle of the Everglades and Big Cypress National Preserve. DeSantis joined President Donald Trump and other state and federal leaders on July 1 to host a grand opening event.
Alligator Alcatraz has come under heavy scrutiny in the few weeks since it opened. Democratic lawmakers, environmental protection groups, and the ACLU have all filed separate lawsuits alleging constitutional, ecological, and humanitarian concerns.
Thursday wasn't DeSantis's first encounter with hecklers. Earlier this year, he was shouted down at a news conference on the red snapper fishing season following public outrage over Hope Florida, a charity his wife had championed.
"Ron DeSantis went from Rupert Murdoch and every Republican billionaire telling him he could be president to sniping at hecklers at a fish shack in Destin," former Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz told Axios at the time. "It's quite a fall."
