Protester Arrested for Impersonating a Federal Marshal

On May 31, 2020, at 7:25 p.m., John Wesley Mobley attended a Black Lives Matter protest in Orlando, Florida. According to an undercover officer with the Orlando Police Department, Mr. Mobley got out of his car to roust protestors who were blocking his way. He did so by displaying a U.S. Marshal badge and by asking them if they wanted to “get arrested” or “go to jail.”

Just over an hour later, Mr. Mobley was spotted by the same undercover officer—wearing what appeared to be a firearm. The undercover officer, a sergeant, called for marked units to contact Mr. Mobley. She was “thinking that Mobley wanted to seek out revenge against the protestors.” The firearm was identical to a Glock; in reality it was a BB gun.

In short order, Mr. Mobley was surrounded by uniformed Orlando Police officers, mainly on bicycles. What followed was captured on the body worn camera video shown here. By the end, it appears that Mr. Mosley has peed his pants.

On February 19, 2009, John Wesley Mobley was investigated by the Orange County Sherriff’s Office for an incident in which he used his gold Ford pick-up truck to block another vehicle. Mobley got out of his truck, stated he was an off duty police officer, and accused the other driver of driving recklessly. Mobley was wearing a black hat with the words “Deputy Sheriff” on it in gold letters.

On February 26, 2009, Two Windermere Police Officers were conducting radar enforcement when a gold Ford pick-up truck sped past them. The officers pursued the truck, but discontinued following him after he observed a permanent tag on the back of the truck that stated, “Sheriff.” Later, the same gold truck pulled up behind the officers on the side of the road and Mobley got out of his vehicle and approached the officers. Mobley was wearing a hat that said “Deputy Sheriff” on it in gold letters.

Mobley claimed to be a deputy sheriff for about three years, said he was in the tactical anti-crime (TAC) unit, and gave them the name of a real deputy sheriff who Mobley falsely claimed to be. Mobley claimed to have been moved into the TAC unit due to his prior experience as an Army Ranger.

After Mobley provided additional false details about his involvement in the TAC unit, one of the officers left to conduct a traffic stop. Mobley then pulled his truck around the officer and acted as though he was providing backup for the officer.

On this same day, a corporal for the OCSO driving an unmarked vehicle observed Mobley driving in his truck wearing the same hat that said “Deputy Sheriff” on it and the “Sheriff” tag on the back of the truck. While the vehicles were stopped next to each other, the corporal asked Mobley where he worked and he replied “Sector 5 Narcotics,” and Mobley claimed the truck was a sheriff vehicle. The corporal pulled Mobley over and Mobley drove away from him until he lost him.

After additional investigation, Mobley was arrested on March 12, 2009, and his gold pick-up truck was searched. Inside the truck law enforcement found multiple shirts with the emblems of various sheriffs’ offices, a black wallet with a metal insignia on it that said “State of Florida Law Enforcement,” and the previously mentioned hat with “Deputy Sheriff” written in gold letters.

As Mobley was being driven to the jail, he initiated conversation with the corporal and told him that he was previously arrested for breaking into an OCSO vehicle and stealing the red and blue lights inside. Mobley explained that he stole the Sheriff’s tag from an unmarked car in College Park.

The mother of an autistic child reported that on July 29, 2016, and August 3, 2016, Mobley came to her residence and told her that he was a Gainesville Police Officer. Mobley was walking with a German Shepard which he claimed was a police K-9. The autistic child was apparently riding his go-cart in the street and Mobley threatened to take him to jail because he was not paying attention.

On August 6, 2016, Gainesville Police were called to a Publix in reference to a suspicious person carrying a gun. A witness saw Mobley pull back a rain coat and exposed a handgun holster on his hip. Two officers encountered Mobley inside of the Publix and he voluntarily gave up the gun on his hip. The gun was a black metal Airsoft pellet gun. Mobley was also wearing a police style belt, an expandable black baton, a set of Peerless handcuffs, a flashlight, a can of tear gas or pepper spray, and a black shirt bearing the word “Police.”

After checking Mobley’s criminal history, Officer John O’Ferrell questioned Mobley in the back of his police car. That recording, with periods of silence truncated in the audio, follows the 2020 body cam video.

On March 24, 2021, Mobley pleaded guilty to Impersonating a Federal Law Enforcement Officer. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison… and remanded to the custody of U.S. Marshals.

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00:00 The 2020 Arrest
06:45 The 2016 Arrest

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJsbaPSUyoI ** (Disclaimer: This video content is intended for educational and informational purposes only) **