Florida Sheriff Says There Will Be Arrests at Hurricane Irma Shelters for Fugitives

Florida Sheriff Says There Will Be Arrests at Hurricane Irma Shelters for Fugitives
Satellite image of Irma pictured here in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean on Aug. 30, 2017. NASA/NOAA /Goddard Rapid Response Team/Handout via REUTERS
Jack Phillips
Jack Phillips
Breaking News Reporter
|Updated:

A sheriff in Florida, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, tweeted that people who are on active warrants trying to seek shelter from Hurricane Irma at an evacuation center will be arrested.

“If you go to a shelter for #Irma, be advised: sworn LEOs [law enforcement officers] will be at every shelter, checking IDs. Sex offenders/predators will not be allowed,” the account for Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd tweeted on Wednesday morning. “We cannot and we will not have innocent children in a shelter with sexual offenders and predators. Period,” Judd posted.

“If you go to a shelter for #Irma and you have a warrant, we'll gladly escort you to the safe and secure shelter called the Polk County Jail.”

Public information officer Carrie Eleazer Horstman, who authored the tweet on behalf of the Sheriff’s Office, said her office was merely trying to give people fair warning about long-standing policies, in response to claims that his tweets were heartless.

A sheriff in Florida, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, tweeted that people who are on active warrants trying to seek shelter from Hurricane Irma at an evacuation center will be arrested. (Twitter)
A sheriff in Florida, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, tweeted that people who are on active warrants trying to seek shelter from Hurricane Irma at an evacuation center will be arrested. Twitter
Jack Phillips
Jack Phillips
Breaking News Reporter
Jack Phillips is a breaking news reporter who covers a range of topics, including politics, U.S., and health news. A father of two, Jack grew up in California's Central Valley. Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/jackphillips5
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