Florida Lawyer Allegedly Asked if Guns Could Pierce ICE Armor, Then Said She'd Aim for Heads

A Florida-licensed attorney walked into a Mississippi gun shop, asked whether the pistols on the counter could get through an ICE agent's body armor, and said that if they couldn't, she would aim elsewhere, federal agents allege. Lisa C. White, 70, has been sitting in federal custody without bond ever since.

White was arrested on Sept. 24 in Long Beach, Miss., by Homeland Security Investigations agents from the Gulfport office, ICE announced this week. The Sun Herald in Biloxi first reported the case on Oct. 1. The story took off nationally after Libs of TikTok shared it on X Thursday.

What happened at the gun counter

According to the federal criminal complaint filed by HSI Special Agent John Griggs, White walked into High Caliber Guns in Long Beach at about 11:30 a.m. on Sept. 23 and said, "I need a gun." She told employees she was a protester and activist and wanted a firearm for protection at protests because "ICE agents are becoming crazy and wild," the Sun Herald reported.

Then, the complaint says, she gestured toward her torso and asked whether the guns for sale would penetrate an agent's body armor. When an employee pressed her, she said that if they couldn't, she would need to "hit them in the head, shoulder, arm or leg," according to the complaint as reported by the Sun Herald and WLOX.

The employee warned her that pointing a gun at law enforcement would likely get her killed. "If I have to die, I have to die," White answered, according to the complaint. The employee steered her toward mace and a shooting range for training instead. White came back at about 12:48 p.m. to finish buying a gun, but the owner refused the sale and told her to come back in a few days, WLOX reported. The owner then reported her to the ATF, which handed the case to HSI.

The complaint goes further, according to The Post Millennial, which published the charging papers: employees at the GunHo range told agents White rented two 9mm handguns, fired them, bought 50 rounds of ammunition, called herself a U.S. Army veteran and an "expert shooter," and said she planned to go back for an AR-15.

The charge, and where the case stands

Federal court records in the Southern District of Mississippi show a criminal complaint and arrest warrant against White on Sept. 24, the day of her arrest. The court appointed the public defender that day, and after a detention and preliminary hearing on Sept. 28, a judge ordered her held (docket 1:26-mj-00698). A grand jury indictment followed on Oct. 7, and she was arraigned on Oct. 15 (docket 1:26-cr-00168). She pleaded not guilty, The Post Millennial reported.

The charge is influencing, impeding or retaliating against a federal official by threat. It carries up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and three years of supervised release, according to ICE and WLOX. Trial is set for Nov. 16, the ABA Journal reported. White is presumed innocent, and no public statement from her or her public defender turned up in court records or news coverage.

She is still a lawyer in good standing. The Florida Bar's member directory lists Lisa C. White as a "Member in Good Standing" and "Eligible to Practice Law in Florida," with an office in Diamondhead, Miss. The Sun Herald reported that she was admitted in October 1995, practiced in Broward County, and has no discipline on record.

A gun shop that did its job

The hero here is a small-town gun counter. The employees listened, took her seriously, refused the sale and called it in. "We commend the vigilance of the citizens for recognizing these threats and notifying law enforcement immediately, which allowed us to intervene swiftly," said Matthew Reidell, assistant special agent in charge for HSI Gulfport, in the ICE release.

It also lands in a hostile climate for the agents. ICE says its officers face more than a 1,600% increase in assaults, a 3,300% increase in vehicle attacks and an 8,000% increase in death threats. The agency did not give the underlying totals or the time frame, Fox News noted. "Threats against federal law enforcement will NOT be tolerated," HSI wrote on X.

Rhetoric calling ICE agents "crazy and wild" doesn't stay in protest chants. According to the complaint, this time it walked up to a gun counter with questions about body armor. A store clerk stopped it before anyone got hurt.