A Florida woman sparked a 500-person riot after she offered to pay local teens to “tear this bitch up” when a local skating rink canceled her daughter’s birthday party.
Stephanie Pedroso, 36, used social media to urge teens to “make them crackers work” at Astro Skate in Brandon in May after the party was canceled for “breach of contract.”
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release, “On Saturday, May 18, 2024, at 9:20 p.m., our Communications Center received a call from an off-duty HCSO deputy that a large crowd of 500 people had shown up to Astro Skate in Brandon, where several violent fights had broken out.”
NEW: Florida mother has been charged with inciting a 500-person riot at a skating rink after her daughter’s 18th birthday party was canceled
Stephanie Pedroso, 36, was arrested for using her daughter’s Instagram to encourage a large turnout at a skating rink
‘For y’all, if… pic.twitter.com/XImdbQAfVE
— Unlimited L’s (@unlimited_ls) July 12, 2024
The Sheriff’s Office explained:
Detectives found that Pedroso had initiated a contract with Astro Skate on May 14, 2024, to host an “after-hours birthday party” for her daughter. She shared the event on her daughter’s social media, which gained considerable attention and hundreds of likes.
In breach of the Astro Skate contract, she failed to secure the required off-duty deputies for the after-hours party. Due to the failure to meet the contract requirements, Astro Skate canceled the reservation on May 17, 2024. Pedroso was issued a refund.
That’s when Pedroso used her daughter’s social media to make a live video encouraging friends to show up to inflict violence in the community, which included many of the businesses around Astro Skate.
In the Instagram live video stream, Pedroso could be heard making multiple violent and vulgar statements as well as numerous racial slurs.
Statements made by Pedroso included, “For y’all, if y’all still go up there, tear the f-ck out of them. I’ve got some money for y’all, and I’ll pay y’all ass,” “I hope everybody still show up and tear this bitch up tomorrow,” and “Make them crackers work.”
Once sheriffs arrived at the scene, it took deputies nearly six hours to stop the riot. There was one injury and five local businesses damaged.
‘A Florida mom has been charged with inciting a 500-person riot at a skating rink after calling on her daughter’s friends to “tear this bitch up” when her kid’s birthday party was canceled, according to police… pic.twitter.com/TVa0o7bjq1
— The Daily Sneed™ (@Tr00peRR) July 13, 2024
Deputies arrested 23 minors and three adults at the scene.
The sheriff’s office condemned Pedroso’s actions in no uncertain terms.
“Using social media to weaponize our youth is absolutely deplorable,” said Sheriff Chad Chronister. “As a parent, I cannot fathom what went through this woman’s mind when she put lives at risk to provoke this mayhem.”
“I want to be clear: using social media to encourage people to riot and destroy businesses is completely unacceptable, and we will not tolerate that here in Hillsborough County,” Sheriff Chronister added. “This serves as a stark reminder of how quickly situations can spiral out of control and show the importance of responsible behavior and the consequences of inciting violence.”
