A Democratic candidate for the Florida House is in custody after he turned Vice President JD Vance's Thursday midterm rally in Lakeland into a spectacle — and was dragged out by police on camera.
Ben Braver, who is running for a seat in the Florida House, was tackled to the ground and arrested after screaming through Vance's speech inside the rally at Lakeland Linder International Airport.
Vance paused mid-remarks and told the crowd, "We got a clown over here, ladies and gentlemen," as the crowd broke into chants of "USA."
The vice president then mocked Braver for carrying a cell phone on a selfie stick to record his own stunt. "You always have to laugh at these protesters because that guy, you know, he pretends like he just broke out into an emotional protest, but he made sure to bring his cell phone at the end of a pole," Vance said, calling him a "Democrat plant."
The rally — featuring gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds and Senate candidate Ashley Moody — is part of the GOP's final midterm push ahead of the November 3 election.