"Dennis Wardlow — then Key West’s mayor — acted quickly to address the crisis. He contacted the city’s chief of police, the sheriff of Monroe County, the district’s Florida State representative and Gov. Bob Graham to find out who ordered the roadblock and to demand its removal.
None of them knew who called for the barrier, but they all knew they didn’t have the authority to close it. Wardlow finally contacted the Border Patrol directly. It didn’t go well.
The captain of the Border Patrol told Wardlow the roadblock was “none of his business.”
“Don’t tell a Conch it’s none of your business,” the mayor replied, invoking the nickname of residents of the Keys. The Border Patrol had unwittingly sown the seeds of rebellion...
Wardlow — now serving as prime minister of the new nation — declared “war” on the United States by breaking a stale loaf of Cuban bread over the head of a man dressed in a U.S. Navy uniform. Citizens of the new republic began lobbing stale bread and conch fritters at federal agents, Navy sailors and Coast Guard personal in attendance."
None of them knew who called for the barrier, but they all knew they didn’t have the authority to close it. Wardlow finally contacted the Border Patrol directly. It didn’t go well.
The captain of the Border Patrol told Wardlow the roadblock was “none of his business.”
“Don’t tell a Conch it’s none of your business,” the mayor replied, invoking the nickname of residents of the Keys. The Border Patrol had unwittingly sown the seeds of rebellion...
Wardlow — now serving as prime minister of the new nation — declared “war” on the United States by breaking a stale loaf of Cuban bread over the head of a man dressed in a U.S. Navy uniform. Citizens of the new republic began lobbing stale bread and conch fritters at federal agents, Navy sailors and Coast Guard personal in attendance."
I guess it speaks to the strength and stability of the American government, that these kinds of little hijinks can happen with no real repercussions.
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