Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Trump boat parade organizer charged with threatening neighbor
JUPITER – A man who organized Trump boat parades spent Tuesday night in jail after he was charged with making written threats to kill or do bodily harm.
Carlos Enrique Gavidia, 53, is accused of threatening his neighbor at the Admiral’s Cove Marina Cafe last month. He was released on his own recognizance after appearing in court on Wednesday.
According to the report from Jupiter Police, Gavidia confronted Paul Edenbaum and his wife in the outdoor seating area. Edenbaum said Gavidia walked up and began pointing at him. As Gavidia walked over, Edenbaum said his neighbor threw his hands in the air and said, “F—- you, you f——-g little Jew. Edenbaum said Gavidia called his wife another expletive before leaving the cafe.
Edenbaum told police a few minutes later he received a text message from Gavidia. According to the arrest report, the text included a series of expletives and phrases including, “You f——d with the wrong guy I’m coming for you” and “I’ve got nothing to lose but you have plenty like your life.”
According to the arrest report, Edenbaum said he had no idea what made Gavidia respond like this. He told police Gavidia approached him at the cafe on Aug. 11. During that encounter, Edenbaum realized Gavidia didn’t have a mask on and it made Edenbaum feel uncomfortable since he was eating lunch with his father. Edenbaum told police Gavidia later sent him a text which read, “Dude are we no longer friends because I support the president???” followed by a flurry of texts with more expletives.
Edenbaum told police he feared for his life, the report said.
Gavidia admitted to police he had three verbal altercations with Edenbaum on Aug. 11, Aug. 12, and Aug. 25. According to the report, he also admitted to sending text messages to Edenbaum.
Stuart Kaplan, Gavidia’s attorney, told CBS12 Edenbaum became angry over Gavidia’s support for President Trump. Kaplan said Gavidia received an “onslaught of harassing behavior” and taunting from his neighbors to the point where he moved out of Admiral’s Cove.
Gavidia and his wife, Laura, met Trump and recently attended the president’s RNC nomination speech on the White House lawn last week.
In June, Gavidia hosted the “ultimate Trump flotilla” in an effort to boost support for Trump’s reelection bid.
Another flotilla is scheduled for Monday.