FLORIDA (VINnews) – Ben Braver, a Jewish Democratic candidate for the Florida House, was removed from a campaign rally for Vice President JD Vance in Lakeland on Thursday after disrupting the event.
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BASED Florida cop drops Democrat heckler to the ground at @JDVance rally before arresting him pic.twitter.com/YiRxuyMeXY
— Kaitlin Bennett (@KaitMarieox) October 1, 2026
Braver, who is running for Florida House District 65, was escorted from the Lakeland Linder International Airport hangar by security as Vance addressed a crowd at the Republican rally. Reporters identified Braver as the person who interrupted the event.
Vance responded by calling the heckler a “clown” and a “Democrat plant” before security led Braver out of the venue. The crowd responded with chants of “USA” as Braver was removed.
The confrontation was the second time in a matter of weeks that Braver has been removed from a Florida Republican event. He was also escorted out of a September event in Tampa featuring Gov. Ron DeSantis and Republican gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds.
Braver, a teacher and progressive Democrat, has made his Jewish identity and views on Israel part of his campaign. His campaign website describes him as a “proud Jewish man” and says his political outlook is rooted in what it calls Jewish values of Tikkun Olam.
His campaign also says he wants to redirect $350 million in state funds currently directed toward Israel back into Florida communities. The proposal is part of a broader progressive platform that includes increased public-school funding, universal pre-K, affordable housing, workers’ rights and changes to the state’s health care system.
Braver has built his campaign around a progressive agenda and opposition to Republican policies in Florida. Before entering the current House race, he was involved in student activism and served as a policy director for the Young Democrats of America. He is also a public-school teacher in Hillsborough County.
The Lakeland confrontation came as Vance campaigned in Florida ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections. Braver is challenging Republican state Rep. Karen Gonzalez Pittman for the House seat.
There was no indication in the reporting reviewed that Braver was arrested. The reports describe him as being removed from the rally by security.
A self hating ignorant Jew who sparks anger and hatred against the Jewish People
No state “directs funds to Israel” outside of investments, so he’s repeating an antisemitic lie.
The progressives want to see the US government run by coffee baristas and public school teachers – in their view our finest and brightest. They will bring their extensive experience of brewing coffee and settling down children to teach elementary concepts to the world stage to represent America’s best interests in complicated sophisticated matters.