Anti-Semitic Threats Stopped by Armed Samaritan in Florida

 

Harbour Way and Collins Ave Image from Google maps, cropped and scaled by Dean Weingarten

A family from New Jersey learned the value of a legally armed population while vacationing in Florida. New Jersey is one of a handful of states where it is nearly impossible to obtain a permit to carry a gun for self defense.  From foxnews.com:

Eric Orgen said he, his wife, and his daughter, 16, had just left a synagogue in Bal Harbour and were walking on the sidewalk when a group of men driving by started shouting and throwing garbage at them.

"They just started screaming some derogatory things towards Jewish people out the window," Orgen told WPEC-TV of West Palm Beach. "My first thought was just making sure my wife and daughter were behind me so I could take the brunt of anything that was going to happen."

Orgen told the station the men said things like, "Free Palestine!," "Die Jew!" "F-- you Jew," and "I’m gonna rape your wife."

The family was helped by a driver who witnessed the attack and decided to intervene, Orgen said. Armed with a gun, the stranger defended the family and chased the group away.

"The guy in the car behind them saw everything go on," Orgen told WPEC-TV. "I saw him pull a gun and get in between - I mean he was almost there as our guardian angel, just protecting us. I think once they saw him they just took off."

The event is reported to have happened on 18 May, 2021, at 7 p.m. on Collins Avenue near Harbour Way in Bal Harbour, FL. The sun would not set until 7:44. It was partly cloudy, about 80 degrees F, with a strong breeze from the West at 17 mph.  Visibility was good. The windows on the SUV were open.

The family was grateful to the armed Samaritan who intervened. From the Blaze: 

A driver of an Audi was right behind the SUV and allegedly witnessed the hateful harassment. The motorist, who was armed, got out of his car and "pulled his gun to protect us and chased them as they drove away," Orgen claimed. "So thankful that a total stranger stepped up to protect us!"

In other reports the armed Samaritan was referred to as a "guardian angel" or a "good Samaritan".

The mayor, Gabriel Groisman, would not acknowledge it was an armed Samaritan which intervened, on his Twitter responses. 

The family reported the incident to the authorities. Ordinarily, a description of the perpetrators is included in police reports. It makes it easier to find them and arrest them. From local10.com:  

They reported the incident to local law enforcement. Orgen said his daughter is back home safe in New Jersey, but she is still a bit shocked and confused.

This correspondent was unable to find any description of the four men in the white SUV.  Such a lack of obviously useful information does not happen by accident.  Did the men appear to be white? Hispanic? black? Were they wearing Islamic dress, KKK hoods, other?  For some reason, the police, media, and perhaps the Orgen family, are unwilling to tell us.

Orgen and another man were reportedly wearing traditional Jewish hats at the time they were harassed.

The police in Bal Harbour are not Second Amendment friendly. Here is a recent video showing  Bal Harbour police ignoring Florida open carry law. 

 

Florida is one of only four states which prohibit open carry of holstered handguns in most public places. There are exceptions for camping, hunting, and fishing. The other three states which prohibit open carry are California, New York, and Illinois. South Carolina recently reformed its law to remove a ban on open carry.

Federal law currently prohibits visitors from other states from purchasing hand guns and carrying them in Florida while they are visiting.  The law, in effect, is a conspiracy between the States and the Federal government to keep citizens of tyrannical states unarmed, even when visiting states which have a greater respect for exercising Second Amendment rights.  

It is a direct inversion of the intent of the Commerce Clause, which was to prevent the states from hindering the flow of commerce between the states. 

The visitors from New Jersey were forbidden by law from carrying handguns for their own defense. 

©2021 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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