Woman charged with inciting 500-person riot at Brandon Astro Skate, sheriff says

If Stephanie Pedroso’s daughter couldn’t have her birthday at Astro Skate in Brandon, then no one could.

That’s what Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said motivated Pedroso to make social media posts urging people to “terrorize” the skating rink the night of May 18, sparking a riot that took more than 40 sheriff’s deputies to quell.

“If y’all still go up there, tear the f--k out of them,” Pedroso said in an Instagram livestream during the attack. “I’ve got some money for y’all.”

A crowd of about 500 people obliged. At around 9:20 p.m., they poured into the street near the rink and wreaked havoc. Fights broke out, and a teen was thrown through the plate-glass window of a nearby barber shop. Rioters broke into a 7-Eleven across the street and looted it, causing $500 in damages, sheriff’s officials said.

After six hours of mayhem, 23 children and three adults were arrested. Pedroso, who stayed home on the night of the riot, was not among them.

No deputies were injured, though Chronister said rioters punched and jumped on the backs of deputies trying to make arrests.

All this, Chronister said, because the skate rink canceled the reservation for Pedroso’s daughter’s party. The contract required her to hire two off-duty deputies for event security, and because she didn’t, the venue canceled the event and issued a full refund.

Pedroso now faces felony charges for inciting a riot and unlawful use of a two-way communication device. Others present were charged with trespassing, resisting arrest and battery on a law enforcement officer.

“Stephanie Pedroso intended to cause terror the evening of May 18, and that’s exactly what she did,” Chronister said.

Hillsborough County State Attorney Suzy Lopez, in the midst of a reelection campaign, tried to use the charges to strike a contrast with her predecessor, suspended state attorney Andrew Warren.

“The Legislature enacts the law, we enforce the law,” Lopez said. “That may be confusing for some people, but it is not confusing for me.”

Lopez noted that speech advocates in 2021 challenged the anti-incitement statute used to charge Pedroso on the grounds that it was unconstitutionally vague and could be used to crack down on protesters.

The Florida Supreme Court upheld the anti-incitement law in June, though clarified that it could not be applied to bystanders at protests or to protesters who do not participate in violence.

“This case is not about free speech,” Lopez said. “This case is about rioters, and in Hillsborough County, we will prosecute rioters.”