Sheriff: Thinking of looting in Polk Country Florida? Think again

FPI / June 3, 2020

The sheriff of Polk County in Florida had a message for any rioters who might seek to infiltrate homes in his county.

“I would tell them, if you value your life, they probably shouldn’t do that in Polk County," Sheriff Grady Judd said during a Monday press conference.

“Because the people of Polk County like guns, they have guns, I encourage them to own guns, and they’re going to be in their homes tonight with their guns loaded. And if you try to break into their homes to steal, to set fires, I’m highly recommending they blow you back out of the house with their guns. So, leave the community alone.”

Judd said the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis “at the hands of that police officer was outrageous. Had that police officer done here what he did there, he would have been locked up in the county jail by sundown.”

“But Minneapolis is not Polk County,” Judd continued. “And I want to say unequivocally that the community here is unbelievable … But please understand, that if you come here to riot, to loot, to injure people, we’re going to lock you up in the county jail.”

Meanwhile, gun sales and FBI background checks on purchasers soared in May.

May’s 3,091,455 background checks was the highest for any May recorded. March was the highest month on record, at 3,740,688.

According to the FBI, there have already been more than 15 million background checks this year, used mostly for legal sales, putting the country on a pace to break last year’s all-time high of 28 million checks in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

Justin Anderson, the marketing director for Hyatt Guns in Charlotte, North Carolina, one of the nation’s largest gun stores, said: "Civil unrest has taken hold across the nation, and as a result, we are seeing a massive spike in business, especially AR-15s, magazines, and ammunition. The time to just ‘think' about buying a gun is over. It’s time to get off of the fence and make sure you have the means to protect yourself and your family."

Free Press International