MAGA Influencer Arrested in Human Trafficking Sting Flaunted Photo With Trump

In a stark example of the Trump-era culture of loyalty and impunity, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd unveiled a photo of Craig Long, a self-styled “MAGA influencer,” posing alongside President Donald Trump and his son Donald Trump Jr. Long was among 266 people arrested in a recent human trafficking sting in Florida.

At a press conference Friday, Sheriff Judd did not hold back as he described Long’s fall from a former felon to a social media figure with thousands of followers — though he downplayed the numbers, citing only “125 followers on Instagram” and “568 on TikTok.” Long owns Craig Long Fitness in Tampa and cultivated an image as a fitness influencer moving in “big circles, even with the president,” Judd said.

But the sheriff emphasized the dark reality behind the image: Long was arrested for seeking the services of a prostitute in the sting operation targeting human trafficking. “We like to see people who make mistakes early in life straighten up,” Judd said, “but he got caught up in a sting and got to be up close and personal with the cops.” Long’s attorney has entered a plea of not guilty.

The irony cuts deeper with another suspect arrested in the same operation: Ryan Yates, who participated in the January 6 Capitol riots and was sentenced to six months in prison. Yates received a blanket pardon from Trump, yet he was arrested again in this sting. “He got away with it with the federal system, but not here,” Judd said. “The state’s attorney is going to make sure that he’s prosecuted.”

Judd noted that unlike his defiance during the Capitol riot, Yates did not resist arrest this time, “He knew better.” Details about Yates’s plea remain unavailable.

This case underscores the troubling pattern of Trump’s pardon power shielding loyalists from federal consequences only for them to face justice at the state level. It also highlights how figures who publicly associate with Trump can still be implicated in serious criminal conduct, including human trafficking.

As the Trump administration’s legacy of corruption and lawlessness continues to unravel, these arrests serve as a reminder that no amount of influence or proximity to power grants immunity from accountability. We will keep tracking these stories to expose the full scope of abuses tied to the MAGA movement and the former president’s enabling of lawbreaking allies.