Florida ‘Constitution Captain’ Arrested After Boat Confrontation Video Goes Viral

• Brock Horner, 40, was arrested on April 4 after police in Florida mentioned he was filmed “unlawfully” boarding a fisherman’s boat amid a verbal confrontation in Punta Gorda
• The Punta Gorda Police Division mentioned the Florida man is charged with housebreaking with assault or battery (non-forced entry)
• “This sort of conduct is not going to be tolerated in our waterways — or anyplace else in our metropolis,” Chief Pam Smith mentioned in an announcement

A 40-year-old Florida man, who was allegedly filmed pulling up alongside and “unlawfully” boarding one other particular person’s boat amid a heated confrontation, has now been arrested following an investigation.

The footage reveals a person — who referred to himself because the “greatest constitution captain you will ever meet” — arguing with a youthful fisherman after which climbing into the sufferer’s boat to demand an apology in Punta Gorda on April 1. The footage has gone viral on TikTok, Fb and YouTube.

On April 4, the Punta Gorda Police Division (PGPD), the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Fee (FWC) and the U.S. Coast Guard mentioned in a joint information launch that Brock Horner had been taken into custody and charged with housebreaking with assault or battery (non-forced entry).

“I by no means needed to submit this video [in] the primary place as a result of it made me really feel so weak however I used to be already having a horrible day and this iced the cake,” the unique uploader, Gage Towles, wrote on YouTube. “I take a look at it now like I probably can save one other particular person from Brock Horner or probably somebody’s life by getting this captain off the water.”

In accordance with the PGPD, the division’s investigation concerned reviewing the “video proof” and interviewing these current throughout the confrontation, because the PGPD Marine Unit established “possible trigger” to arrest Horner over what it’s calling “the illegal boarding and threats made throughout the altercation.”

Upon reviewing the footage, investigators discovered that Horner “unlawfully” boarded the sufferer’s boat with out permission earlier than threatening the sufferer and “escalating the scenario right into a prison offense.” The Coast and FWC are conducting separate investigations.

As of April 4, police mentioned Horner remained in custody on the Charlotte County Jail.

“This sort of conduct is not going to be tolerated in our waterways — or anyplace else in our metropolis,” Chief Pam Smith mentioned within the information launch. “We’re dedicated to making sure the security of our residents and guests, each on land and on the water.”

Wish to sustain with the newest crime protection? Join PEOPLE’s free True Crime publication for breaking crime information, ongoing trial protection and particulars of intriguing unsolved circumstances.       

Scott Weinberg, an lawyer for Horner, mentioned in an announcement offered to NBC affiliate WBBH that Horner “sincerely apologizes to Gage, to Gage’s household, and to anybody who was frightened or upset by what they noticed.”

“Brock will not be happy with how he acted. Nevertheless it’s essential to recollect: we aren’t the sum of our worst day. That video captured one second — not the entire of who he’s. Because the video went viral, Brock’s enterprise has been destroyed, his status broken, and his household — together with his spouse and mom—have been harassed and even threatened,” the lawyer wrote. “Some have gone as far as to query his navy service and accuse him of stolen valor.”

“We dwell in a time when on-line outrage can shortly spiral into private destruction,” he added. “However simply as Gage confirmed grace within the second, I ask others to do the identical now. Let’s maintain individuals accountable — but additionally give them room to develop and make amends.”

In an announcement on Fb, the Fisherman’s Village in Punta Gorda has since shared that it has “severed any affiliation with this captain.”

Within the footage, additionally shared by Fox affiliate WTVT and captured by Towles in Florida’s Peace River, a person may very well be heard approaching the sufferer a few earlier encounter. He claimed the sufferer was “cussing me out” on a special event, whereas the sufferer argued that Horner “ran by the center of the bridge” when he was fishing on an earlier date.

The argument then transitioned to the captain complaining concerning the sufferer’s boat lights, whereas the sufferer requested him to “get the f— out of right here.”

In the course of the encounter, the captain then introduced up his personal navy service, earlier than calling himself “the very best constitution captain you’ll ever meet” whereas boarding the opposite man’s boat and demanding he “apologize.” The youthful boater tried to drive away because the suspect continued to threaten him, earlier than asking him to deliver him again to his boat.

“Do it once more and watch what f—– occurs,” the person may very well be heard saying to the youthful boater.

On April 5, the PGPD held a press convention on Horner’s arrest, as authorities confirmed that the April 1 confrontation stemmed from one other that passed off on the night of March 30 — when the sufferer claimed that Horner drove his boat at “a excessive charge of pace” and got here inside 10 ft of his personal boat.

Chief Smith confirmed that the most-recent confrontation passed off when the sufferer was fishing “by himself.”

“When you have seen the video, you will see that the sufferer tries to disengage,” she mentioned. “He does not need something to do with the confrontation. Sooner or later saying, ‘Please bro, I do not need something to do with this.’ However Mr. Horner continues to be aggressive and finally pulls as much as the sufferer’s vessel.”

Police added that Horner, at one level, grabbed the sufferer “by his shirt.” The sufferer turned “so afraid for his life, he really contemplated leaping off his boat to get away from Mr. Horner,” Smith mentioned. Horner was apprehended round 10:15 p.m. on April 4, with the investigation “nonetheless open.”

Talking with reporters on April 5, Smith referred to as the video a “essential piece of proof” within the case. “It all the time helps to have video if you’re in a scenario like this,” she mentioned. “The witnesses have been cooperative and have mainly corroborated the sufferer’s assertion.”

In the end, Smith informed reporters that the “aggressive conduct” captured on digital camera is “not tolerated” within the metropolis.

“We wish to guarantee everyone that the town of Punta Gorda is a boater-friendly group,” she mentioned. “We wish our residents and our guests to know that we take this stuff critically and we wish them to have the ability to get pleasure from our waterways.”