{"id":5850,"date":"2025-10-16T01:38:38","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T01:38:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/5850\/"},"modified":"2025-10-16T01:38:38","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T01:38:38","slug":"tampa-seeks-to-take-guns-from-ex-city-candidate-elvis-piggott-after-arrest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/5850\/","title":{"rendered":"Tampa seeks to take guns from ex-city candidate Elvis Piggott after arrest"},"content":{"rendered":"

TAMPA \u2014 Lawyers for the Tampa Police Department want to bar Elvis Piggott from accessing firearms after the ex-City Council candidate was accused of pulling a gun at an election forum<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In a petition filed in court this week, city attorneys asked a judge to impose a risk protection order that would require Piggott,37, to turn over any guns he owns and prohibit him from accessing firearms for up to a year.<\/p>\n

Reached by phone Wednesday, Piggott told the Tampa Bay Times that he will contest the petition in court, but he hung up before a reporter could ask further questions.<\/p>\n

The petition includes a line alleging that Piggott \u201cmay be seriously mentally ill or may have recurring mental health issues.\u201d It indicates that he does not hold a concealed weapons license.<\/p>\n

The document includes a police report detailing the investigation into the Oct. 9 incident.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Several people reported Piggott pulled a gun during an argument with a family member of Naya Young, who is competing against Thomas Scott in the runoff election for City Council District 5. The redacted report does not identify the victim or witnesses by name.<\/p>\n

In social media posts since the incident, Piggott has asserted that he acted in self-defense.<\/p>\n

An arrest warrant issued Tuesday<\/a> charged Piggott with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and improper exhibition of a dangerous weapon. He turned himself in Tuesday afternoon at the Orient Road Jail. He was released less than an hour later after posting $5,500 bond.<\/p>\n

In the jail parking lot, he recorded aFacebook Live video in which he called himself a \u201cproud African American Republican.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a right to bear arm(s),\u201d he said. \u201cWe believe in the Second Amendment. And I believe in that wholeheartedly. I also believe that every individual should keep themselves and their families safe at all costs. … And when it comes to my wife and my kids, I believe wholeheartedly that you should stand your ground.\u201d<\/p>\n

The last statement is an apparent reference to Florida\u2019s stand your ground law. Passed in 2005, the law removed the duty to retreat from traditional self-defense law. Critics have derided it as offering a way out of trouble for people who commit violent acts.<\/p>\n

In a statement after Piggott\u2019s arrest, Young thanked law enforcement and prosecutors for \u201cpursuing justice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Piggott has previously run for Hillsborough County\u2019s commission and school board. He was one of 14 candidates to vie for the District 5 seat, which opened in June after the death of council member Gwen Henderson.<\/p>\n

Piggott came in eighth place in the Sept. 9 special election<\/a>, drawing less than 5% of the vote. He then became a vocal supporter of Scott in the runoff with Young.<\/p>\n

The police report depicts a tense and chaotic situation that erupted shortly before 8 p.m. Oct. 9 amid a large crowd inside a ballroom. It happened at an event hosted by the Tampa Heights Junior Civic Association.<\/p>\n

Police were called after a report of a \u201cfight with weapons.\u201d Someone identified Piggott as being armed with a gun.<\/p>\n

Officers spotted Piggott walking toward them shortly after they arrived. He was placed in handcuffs. A loaded black Taurus 9 mm handgun was tucked in his waistband.<\/p>\n

Piggott told the officers he\u2019d gotten into an argument with someone from Young\u2019s family. He said the argument had to do with a Facebook Live post he\u2019d made in which he urged his supporters to vote for Scott, according to the report.<\/p>\n

During the campaign forum, the man approached and got \u201cin his face,\u201d Piggott told police.<\/p>\n

As an argument ensued, Piggott said the man pointed his finger, then touched Piggott\u2019s head, according to the report. Piggott pulled his gun, he said, and held it at his side.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t put your hands on me,\u201d he said he told the man. \u201cIf you put your hands on me, your momma will be burying you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two security officers working the venue each caught snippets of the interaction. One recalled hearing people scream, \u201cHe\u2019s got a gun!\u201d He saw Piggott holding a weapon at his side, according to the report. The other did not see Piggott with a weapon, but heard him say, \u201cI\u2019m gonna bury you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bystanders intervened, separating the men.<\/p>\n

A witness, whose name was also redacted from the report, described seeing a man approach Piggott from behind as he interacted with other attendees before the argument. The pair at one point were \u201cchest to chest,\u201d the witness said.<\/p>\n

Other people escorted the man out. The witness told police they did not see the man put his hands on Piggott, nor did they see Piggott draw a weapon. Several others, though, reported seeing Piggott pull a gun. Another described Piggott as the aggressor, saying he pulled the weapon \u201cfor no reason\u201d and started \u201cwaving the gun around.\u201d<\/p>\n

Officers located a man they described in the report as the victim. An arrest affidavit summarizes his version of events, saying Piggott first pointed a finger at him before the victim raised a hand to wave it away. It was then that the gun came out.<\/p>\n

The man said the act made him \u201cfear for his life,\u201d but also told police he did not want to press charges. Because of that, officers initially let Piggott go. He was given back his gun.<\/p>\n

Within hours of the incident, Piggott started a Facebook Live video. He said he acted in self-defenseand spoke disparagingly of Young and her family.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou cannot put your hands on no one unless you\u2019re planning to meet the maker,\u201d he said in the video.<\/p>\n

He later added, \u201cI\u2019m almost glad he did all that in the building and not tried to step down on me outside when I\u2019m going to my car and it\u2019s dark. I would\u2019ve killed him.\u201d<\/p>\n

The video was later deleted.<\/p>\n

The police report indicates that a witness later told police about an encounter that occurred afterward. The witness claimed Piggott made a derogatory remark about him and that \u201che knew where to find him and was going to go see him,\u201d according to the report. He said Piggott accused him of putting \u201chis goons\u201d on him and said he was \u201cgoing to make sure (the witness) lost his job at the school district.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re going to get it,\u201d the witness said he was told.<\/p>\n

Risk protection orders, sometimes referred to as \u201cred flag\u201d orders, are a legal mechanism designed to bar a person from accessing guns if they are believed to pose a threat to themselves or others.<\/p>\n

They were one of several measures Florida lawmakers took to address gun violence after the 2017 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.<\/p>\n

Republicans and Democrats both have credited risk protection orders with preventing acts of violence. Some gun rights advocates, though, oppose them on the grounds that they could infringe on constitutional rights.<\/p>\n

Gov. Ron DeSantis earlier this year lent his voice to the opposition<\/a>, raising the idea of repealing the law. At the same time, he enacted legislation that sped up the process of courts transmitting the orders to law enforcement.<\/p>\n

The aggravated assault charge \u2014 the more serious of the two alleged crimes \u2014 is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison. If convicted of that crime, Piggott would be prohibited from legally possessing guns for life.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, Hillsborough Circuit Judge Caroline Tesche Arkin issued a temporary order for Piggott to surrender to police all his guns and ammunition. A court hearing is set for Friday to determine if he has complied with the order.<\/p>\n

Another hearing next week will determine if the order should become permanent, which could bar Piggott from having guns for a year.<\/p>\n

Times staff writer Nina Moske contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TAMPA \u2014 Lawyers for the Tampa Police Department want to bar Elvis Piggott from accessing firearms after the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5851,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[608,6444,4176,135,137,136,3793,611],"class_list":["post-5850","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-elvis-piggott","tag-piggott","tag-report","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news","tag-tampa-police-department","tag-thomas-scott"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5850","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5850"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5850\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}