On what was supposed to be a lively Saturday of line dancing and music at the Flagler County Fairgrounds in Daytona Beach, the silence that took its place was deafening.
A single sheriff’s deputy stood guard near the gate — not for crowd control, but in case anyone missed the memo that the “Boots on the Ground Line Dance Competition” had been canceled.
The abrupt shutdown came less than 24 hours before the event, following weeks of back-and-forth between event organizer Troy Reddin and county officials.
Reddin, a Palm Coast resident and former rapper known as Fat Ass, had billed the gathering as a family-friendly dance competition inspired by 803Fresh’s viral hit “Boots on the Ground.” But concerns mounted as details of a much larger event emerged online — complete with trail rides, vendors, and alcohol sales.
As a result, Deputy County Administrator Jorge Salinas pulled the plug Friday morning, citing “serial misrepresentation of the event, continually contradicted by his social media promotion.”
The decision followed a detailed four-page letter from Sheriff Rick Staly, which warned of public safety risks and called out the permitting process itself.
“I have significant concerns with this event being held in Flagler County and the process that approved it,” Staly wrote in his letter to County Commission Chair Andy Dance. “I see absolutely NO benefit to the residents and taxpayers of Flagler County; but I do see significant liability and the possibility of a serious incident occurring.”
The sheriff pointed to troubling discrepancies between Reddin’s permit — capped at 500 attendees, with no alcohol and a 9 p.m. end time — and his social media posts, which advertised a “Fat Boyz Camo Day” with four-wheelers, late-night partying, and thousands expected to attend.
“You would only state ‘no metal detectors on site’ IF you know or believe that it is very likely your attendees will be carrying weapons, specifically firearms,” Staly wrote.
Reddin, currently out on $5,000 bond for a probation violation, had once produced rap videos in South Bunnell that drew such large crowds the city reworked ordinances in response. He now runs a concrete business and insists this event was different.
“All I was trying to do was something good,” Reddin said. “I am a father of two teens, and the event planned had nothing to do with rapping.”
However, county officials noticed red flags.
Reddin had submitted the permit only two months prior — well short of the 90-day minimum required. He initially claimed no alcohol would be served, only to amend the application days before the event. When asked about the advertised vehicles, Reddin reportedly said they would be “for display only,” yet online posts encouraged attendees to bring them — “just don’t tear up anything.”
Though the sheriff’s office had initially signed off on the permit, it wasn’t until the event’s social media promotion gained traction that the sheriff’s team raised the alarm.
“That is a naive response,” Staly later said about the county’s plan to cancel the event midstream if things got out of hand. “If there’s 1,600 people there, and you pull the permit and expect me to get all those people out of there, there’s no way that was going to go safely for anybody.”
Reddin maintains he met all requirements, including hiring deputies, obtaining insurance, and securing the necessary liquor license.
“They said I needed to hire three deputies for security; I did that. I got a liquor permit, and they approved it,” he said. “Now, all that was for nothing.”
Vendors were also left in limbo. “A lot of businesses invested a lot of money for the event,” Reddin said. “Now, all that was for nothing.”
Still, Staly’s letter was not a direct call to cancel the event. Instead, it urged the county to hit pause on future permits until the ordinance could be reviewed.
“The Sheriff’s Office does not permit or regulate events on county property,” he clarified. “This is a county function.”
Yet Reddin believes his past played a role. “In 2018-2019, I was a rapper and produced rap videos and drew large crowds of up to 50,000 people,” he said to Daytona News-Journal. “He said my events had shootings and drug use, and he put that in a letter to Flagler County officials to have my permit revoked.”
In the letter, Staly noted that Reddin had promoted videos glorifying “guns, gangs, illegal narcotics, sex and fast cash.” But the sheriff insisted that had the county followed its own ordinance, “we wouldn’t be here today.”
Ultimately, the fallout may force Flagler County to rethink how it vets events. The sheriff’s letter has already prompted talk of freezing future permits until the rules are tightened. For now, though, the fairgrounds are quiet, the stage is empty, and Reddin is left to count his losses.
“I did everything by the book,” he said. “They asked for all the public precaution because it’s Black culture — and I did all of it.”
Great Job A.L. Lee & the Team @ Atlanta Black Star Source link for sharing this story.
