USF student, Bay Area House candidate accused of heckling JD Vance at Lakeland rally

TAMPA, Fla. - The state House candidate and University of South Florida student who was arrested and charged with trespassing and resisting arrest without violence does not have regrets over interrupting Vice President JD Vance's speech on Thursday in Lakeland.

JD Vance Lakeland speech interruption

What we know:

Braver allegedly shouted, in sarcastic fashion, that he was thankful for high gas prices, the war in Iran and the Hope Florida scandal.

"Our First Amendment is one of the things that makes this country so great, and it needs to be preserved," Braver said during an interview on Monday.

On Monday, Braver was out putting up yard signs that showcase his name and face, as he runs against State Rep. Karen Gonzalez-Pittman.

The district covers Westchase to South Tampa.

Lakeland police arrest Florida House candidate

What they're saying:

Braver was escorted out by Lakeland police after heckling the vice president over Iran, gas prices and Ashley Moody over the Hope Florida scandal.

"If the voters there truly believed in [Vance's] message, they would have cheered me on," Braver said. "But they know that gas prices are outrageously high as a direct result of the war in Iran, that we are definitely not winning. The truth is that people are tired of losing, and they're tired of their representatives doing nothing."

An angle Braver recorded shows him being taken down after police said he resisted arrest, though he told FOX 13 that he did not intend to do so, and that the public can judge the video of his arrest for themselves.

Braver says he understands where the officer was coming from, and that they have a very hard job.

At the end of the clip, you also hear JD Vance say that the heckler is a "Democratic plant.

Rather, he's a Democratic candidate for office, running for state House against Republican incumbent Karen Gonzalez-Pittman.

Here's how Braver responded to the incident while campaigning Monday in South Tampa.

"You don't get up in front of people who are going to hate you and not get nervous," Braver said. "I wasn't nervous about getting arrested. Because we have a proud tradition in America, a country I love, of standing up for our rights, our freedoms, of speaking truth to power, that should never be taken away."

FOX 13 asked whether it was just a publicity stunt for his campaign.

"We cannot continue to see people in power get away with horrendous acts towards children," Braver said. "Whether it's the Epstein files, whether it is taking $10 million of their insurance money. They have to be held accountable, and we have to keep on speaking up about it until they are."

House District 65 election outlook

What's next:

It is not going to be an easy race for Braver.

Florida House District 65 runs from Westchase to South Tampa, and voted for President Trump in the 2024 election by more than 10 points.

Braver clearly has no regrets, but says the process of being arrested is not fun, and he does not recommend others make their point in the same way he did.

Braver bonded out of jail on a $2,000 bond and was charged with resisting without violence and trespassing.

Police wrote that Braver "planted his foot in opposition to the direction he was being escorted and pushed his body weight against the officer."

"As soon as physical resistance increased," the officer wrote, he "escorted the subject to the ground using a leg sweep."

Incumbent candidate response

What we don't know:

Gonzalez-Pittman did not immediately respond to our request for comment.

TampaPoliticsLakelandCrime and Public Safety