Local Crime in Florida

Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputies arrested Paul Messer outside President Donald Trump’s West Palm Beach golf club over the weekend on a battery charge after witnesses say he struck a woman multiple times with a metal flagpole during a protest across from the course. According to the sheriff’s office, Messer, who was holding a pro‑Trump flag, got into a verbal dispute with an anti‑Trump demonstrator and allegedly hit her in the upper chest and neck, leaving visible redness on her neck before she stumbled backward. The incident occurred while Trump was spending the weekend at nearby Mar‑a‑Lago, and members of the White House press pool traveling with the president reported seeing the altercation and the arrest. Messer was taken into custody and transported to the Palm Beach County Jail; authorities have not yet released the victim’s identity, and no more serious injuries were reported. The clash underscores how demonstrations around Trump properties and his immigration and ICE policies continue to draw both supporters and opponents into close, sometimes volatile contact that can quickly escalate into violence.