By Daniel Smith
The past couple of months have not been the best times for one of South Florida’s Palm Beach County lawmakers, Al Jacquet. One would recall that in August 2020, the lawmaker who has been in Florida’s house for 4 years lost his re-election bid during the democratic primaries. Following a trip to his homeland-Haiti, Jacquet, a Haitian-American, found himself in police custody. News of his arrest, however, made it to the media with many unconfirmed reports on social media.
Confirming reports of his arrest, a police officer in Miragoâne, a coastal community, who wished to remain anonymous, stated that the former Rep had been arrested for being in possession of an illegal firearm. Investigations were said to be ongoing while the case was transferred from the local authorities to the national government.
Not long after his detention, a picture of the former lawmaker’s expired driver’s license, his state legislative ID card, a Glock 9mm pistol, magazines, and extra ammunition began to circulate social media space. Investigations on the driver’s license showed that it matched recent documentation from a traffic citation.
There was another tweet making rounds on social media that claimed that Jacquet’s arrest was linked to a report of a missing woman.
While all these were going on, Jacquet, who himself is a lawyer, was out of reach. Efforts to contact him via phone calls proved futile at different angles. Both the US embassy in Haiti and the State Department in DC refused to speak on the matter based on privacy laws. Members of his family were also beyond reach while they stalled in responding to the many messages that were dropped at their residences.
In an attempt to clear his name, the former lawmaker had a telephone interview with South Florida’s Sun-Sentinel. He stated that his arrest wasn’t unrelated to the fact that the authorities were after him. This, according to him is because of his anti-corruption efforts. He was questioned at length about “something that happened in November,” he said. On the rumors making rounds, he noted that he was aware of the reports about a gun arrest, as well as that which linked him with the case of a missing woman. He described the reports as bogus claims.
Speaking on the issue of kidnapping, Jacquet had this to say: “The next morning they tried to create some fabrication of kidnapping… I don’t understand this kidnapping.” He, therefore, cleared the air, stating that he was not charged for any offense.
He, however, maintained that the lack of paperwork for the vehicle he was in was the reason for his detention. He said he was stepping into his brother’s car as he was leaving a restaurant on Tuesday when a law enforcement vehicle pulled up. The officers inside the vehicle started interrogating him and asking for the paperwork of the vehicle, he said. There were no other issue asides this, he noted, and he was released to go home soon afterward. Asked if he was in detention for long, the former lawmaker said he was only at the police agency all night.
While he intends to take legal steps to clear his name, he revealed that he isn’t going to say more about the issue. “I will go to the ends of earth… once this is cleared, the world will know the truth,” he said.
Having served in the legislature for two terms, Jacquet, who had represented the side of Palm Beach from Delray Beach to Lake Park, lost his seat to Omari Hardy after some controversies. Jacquet was in the news during his campaign for describing Hardy with an anti-gay slur while on air on his online radio program. Following the reactions that trailed his words, the lawmaker lost all his committee assignments.
He was again in the news after he tried to change Florida’s constitutional Amendment 4’s language in a bid to reinstate voting rights to former felons without demanding the complete payment of legal fees. Although this was an unsuccessful move, it raised dust as to the lawmaker’s character and credibility.
Even after he lost his seat in Florida’s legislature, he continued to appear in the news for the wrong reasons. Reports have it that after his defeat, he couldn’t account for funds that amounted to over $38,000 which was raised for his 2020 campaign. He was slammed with a $650 fine in August 2020 following his failure to present a campaign treasurer’s report which he was meant to submit on the 10th of February. He also did not present the campaign termination report that he was meant to submit on or before the 16th of November.
Al Jacquet was a legislative assistant to Mack Bernard, a Haitian-American lawmaker who served in the Florida House from 2009 to 2012.