‘Tear This B**** Up’: Florida Woman Accused of Inciting 500-Person Riot at Roller Rink After Daughter’s Party Canceled

A Florida woman was arrested recently for allegedly inciting a riot at a roller skating rink in May over a disputed contract for an after-hours birthday party, officials said.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said that at around 9:20 p.m. on May 18, an off-duty deputy called to report a crowd of 500 people outside Astro Skate in Brandon, and that "several violent fights had broken out."

Detectives learned that Stephanie Pedroso, 36, had entered a contract with Astro Skate days earlier to host an after-hours birthday party for her daughter. She shared the event details on social media, gaining "considerable attention and hundreds of likes," according to the sheriff's office.

But according to Astro Skate, Pedroso failed to meet the contract requirement of securing off-duty deputies to work the party, and as a result, they canceled her reservation, set for May 17, and refunded her deposit.

In response, Pedroso allegedly used her daughter's social media to encourage her friends to descend on Astro Skate and "tear this b**** up."

According to the sheriff's office, Pedroso made several statements in the livestream that incited the violence that occurred on May 18.

"If y’all still go up there, tear the f*** out of them. I’ve got some money for y’all, and I’ll pay y’all a**," she allegedly said, along with, “I hope everybody still show up and tear this b**** up tomorrow.”

She also allegedly said, “Make them crackers work," and, "stress them the f*** out.”

"Using social media to weaponize our youth is absolutely deplorable," Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a statement. "As a parent, I cannot fathom what went through this woman's mind when she put lives at risk to provoke this mayhem."

The sheriff's office said it took deputies six hours to contain the riot, which caused damage to five local businesses and resulted in one injury. Deputies arrested 23 juveniles and three adults at the scene.

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Pedroso was arrested recently on charges of inciting a riot, unlawful use of a two-way communication device, and driving with a license suspended, canceled or revoked (third offense).

Her husband, 38-year-old James Knight II, was also arrested on an unrelated charge of driving with a license suspended, canceled or revoked (third offense).

"I want to be clear: using social media to encourage people to riot and destroy businesses is completely unacceptable, and we will not tolerate that here in Hillsborough County," said Sheriff Chronister. "This serves as a stark reminder of how quickly situations can spiral out of control and show the importance of responsible behavior and the consequences of inciting violence."

TMX contributed to this report.