Florida Man Versus Florida Man
Credit: Joe Raedle - Getty Images
March 17, 2021

A Florida man, Paul Rawls, Jr., was ticked off because he wasn't one of the first to get his money from the COVID Relief package, so he threw a smoke bomb at Mar-A-Lago:

A Florida man upset with former President Donald Trump's administration was arrested on Sunday for throwing a smoke bomb at Mar-a-Lago, the former president's residence.

Stimulus checks started going out over the weekend as part of President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion relief package and not receiving one reportedly irked Paul Rawls Jr., a West Palm Beach resident. While driving by the former president's home, he threw a smoke bomb out of the window and later admitted to it during a conversation with Palm Beach detective Christopher Barber.

"Rawls spoke of his financial struggles and disdain for the former administration because he has not received his stimulus check from the government this weekend," Rawls reportedly told Barber, according to an affidavit.

[...]

During a search of his vehicle, officers found four additional white smoke devices, four flares, a 12-foot handheld expandable hook, black glove, nylon rope and nine smoke bombs. Rawls was arrested on Sunday and charged with disorderly conduct, criminal mischief and throwing a destructive device.

In a way, it seems rather appropriate, since Trump's entire agenda, regardless of the issue, was a smoke and mirror stunt.

Although more appropriate would have been a stink bomb.

Can you help us out?

For nearly 20 years we have been exposing Washington lies and untangling media deceit, but now Facebook is drowning us in an ocean of right wing lies. Please give a one-time or recurring donation, or buy a year's subscription for an ad-free experience. Thank you.

Discussion

We welcome relevant, respectful comments. Any comments that are sexist or in any other way deemed hateful by our staff will be deleted and constitute grounds for a ban from posting on the site. Please refer to our Terms of Service for information on our posting policy.
Mastodon