Florida Sheriff Pulls Out Photo of MAGA Influencer Arrested in Human Trafficking Sting Posing With President and Don Jr

The sheriff of Polk Co., FL, pulled out a photo of a “MAGA influencer” posing with President Donald Trump and Donald Trump Jr. when discussing arrests in a major human trafficking sting.

Sheriff Grady Judd highlighted several suspects of the 266 people arrested, two of whom had Trump ties.

“Then there’s Craig Long arrested,” Judd said at a press conference Friday. “He’s 41. Some of you may recognize him — he’s an influencer. He also owns Craig Long Fitness in Tampa. He was seeking the services of a prostitute.”

When recounting Long’s social media followers, the sheriff neglected to add “hundred thousand” after the numbers.

“Did I tell you that he’s married, that he’s got 125 [sic] followers on instagram, 568 [sic] followers on TikTok? Well, I’m going to give him some content for social media today. He was a previous felon who straighened up — really what we want to see in life. Now he’s an influencer. You know, he moves in big circles, even with the president,” Judd said, when slamming the photo on the dais.

“This is a photograph with the president and his son not long ago,” he continued. “Now, we’d like to see people who make mistakes early in life — and he had a long history — straighten up. We like the fact that he likes the. cops, heck, he liked him so much. he got caught up in a sting and got to be up and real close with the cops. we asked what his attitude was. he said oh he had a great attitude. he appreciates law enforcement. well, there you go, got arrested in a human trafficking sting. Influence that for a while.”

Long’s attorney entered a plea of not guilty.

Also nabbed in the sting was Ryan Yates, who was arrested during the Jan. 6th Capitol riots. Yates was sentenced to six months in prison, but received a blanket pardon from President Trump.

“He got away with it with the federal system, but not here,” Judd said. “He came here to violate the law. We arrested him. The state’s attorney is going to make sure that he’s prosecuted. And think about this: he didn’t resist us like he did the Capitol Police. He knew better.”

Information about Yates’s plea was not available.

Watch the clips above via WFLA and WOFL.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!