Florida Rep. Jared Moskowitz said a constituent was arrested just miles from his Boca Raton home for threatening his life, with the suspect held in the Palm Beach County jail as officers moved fast to protect his family.
The Florida Democrat revealed the arrest in a social media post Thursday afternoon. He credited state and local officers for the quick response that kept him and his family safe.
Daily Mail reporting carried Moskowitz’s account of the new arrest near his home in Boca Raton. The congressman said the person is a constituent now sitting in the Palm Beach County jail.
Moskowitz wrote that law enforcement acted without delay. He tagged the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s public information account and praised local officers for the work.
"A constituent of mine has just been arrested in Boca, just a few miles from my house, for threatening my life. He is currently in the Palm Beach County jail,"
He followed with thanks to the agencies on the ground.
"I'm grateful to @fdlepio and local law enforcement for acting quickly to keep myself and my family safe,"
The latest arrest comes against a backdrop of an earlier case that put Moskowitz squarely in the crosshairs. In 2024, an armed suspect was taken into custody near the congressman’s Florida home.
The New York Post reported that Johnathan Lapinski, 41, was arrested by Margate police near the home and faced charges including possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Officers recovered a rifle, a suppressor, body armor, and a manifesto filled with antisemitic rhetoric that listed Moskowitz as a target.
Lapinski lived under ten miles from the congressman’s residence. He was later sentenced to 25 years in connection with the suspected assassination plot. Investigators also described an extensive cache of tactical gear, smoke grenades, operational maps, racist drawings, and an antisemitic manifesto tied to him.
Moskowitz has long warned that threats against lawmakers were rising. Speaking to the Wall Street Journal last year, he put the danger in plain terms.
"Someone's gonna get killed here. It almost was me,"
National Review detailed that Moskowitz was notified of the potential plot the day before the election and went on to win reelection in Florida’s 23rd District. Fellow Republican Rep. Carlos Giménez condemned the antisemitic hate and said political violence has no place in the country.
Moskowitz, who is Jewish and has two children with his wife Leah Rifkin, has built a reputation for working across the aisle. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis tapped him in January 2019 to lead the state’s Division of Emergency Management while Moskowitz still served as a Democrat in the Florida House. He earned the nickname “master of disaster” for hurricane and pandemic response work.
He later praised Trump’s selection of Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff, citing her earlier Florida record. That kind of pragmatism has not always sat well inside his own party.
Earlier this year Moskowitz fended off a primary challenge from progressive organizer Oliver Larkin, who drew backing from the Democratic Socialists of America. The fight reflected the same left-wing squeeze that has left Hollywood’s Democratic power brokers pulling back as activists tighten control.
This week the Congressional Leadership Fund, a Republican PAC, abandoned its effort to oust him. Moskowitz remains narrowly favored next month against Republican nominee Scott Singer in a district that runs from South Beach to Delray Beach after GOP-led redistricting.
Party fractures keep surfacing elsewhere. House Democrats split when dozens broke ranks on a Trump impeachment push, and candidates have openly distanced themselves from Kamala Harris’s campaign support as midterm anxiety grows.
Voters have noticed the image problems. An NBC poll showed Democrats with a narrow edge, yet the party’s own brand continues to drag. Fabricated surveys that once boosted progressives only added to the fury inside Democratic ranks.
Specific charges, the exact method of the new alleged threat, and the full legal name of the constituent arrested Thursday have not been released in the available accounts. Moskowitz’s post remains the primary public disclosure so far.
What is clear is the pattern. A Jewish Democrat who once ran Florida’s emergency response for a Republican governor now faces repeated threats near his own home. Law enforcement moved fast this time. The earlier Lapinski case showed how far some plots advanced before officers intervened.
Political violence does not check party registration at the door. When a sitting member of Congress says a constituent was arrested a few miles from his house for threatening his life, the public deserves every verified detail and every charge on the record. Anything less leaves families and taxpayers guessing while the next threat takes shape.