Florida influencer charged after airboat video shows gunfire at alligator

An airboat video that appeared to show gunfire directed at an alligator in the Everglades has turned into misdemeanor charges for Braden Eric Peters, a 20-year-old influencer known online as Clavicular, alongside two other men.

Prosecutors filed the charges on April 29, 2026, accusing Peters, Andrew Morales, known as Cuban Tarzan, and Yabdiel Anibal Cotto Torres of unlawful discharge of a firearm in a public place or residential property. Court documents say the case stems from a March 26 incident at the Francis S. Taylor Everglades Wildlife Management Area boat ramp dock, where authorities say people on an airboat appeared to fire at an alligator.

Florida wildlife officials said they were investigating after the video circulated online. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said it was aware of the footage and would provide more information when available. The episode quickly drew condemnation from Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, who said Florida’s wildlife and waterways deserve respect and that anyone who abuses wildlife in Florida should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.

The case also puts Florida’s wildlife rules in sharp relief. State law bars intentionally killing, injuring, possessing, capturing, or attempting to kill, injure, possess or capture an alligator or other crocodilian unless authorized by the commission. The allegations in this case center on conduct that, if proved, would run directly against that protection and add a firearms violation on top of it.

Peters’s online profile has amplified the attention around the case. Local and court reporting identify him as Braden Eric Peters, and say he was 20 at the time. He had already been arrested in a separate March 2026 case on misdemeanor battery and conspiracy-to-commit-battery charges in Osceola County, where deputies said he instigated a fight between two women at a short-term rental and posted it on social media to exploit them.

Together, the two episodes point to a familiar pressure point in influencer culture: the race for attention can reward reckless spectacle long before law enforcement catches up. In this case, the spectacle moved from a screen to a criminal docket, with wildlife officials, prosecutors and state leaders all now treating the stunt as more than a provocative clip.