A man running for Florida governor was arrested after law enforcement authorities said he assaulted two elderly individuals.
According to WESH, a report said that a suspect had “battered two elderly victims in the home — hitting one with a cane and throwing a cellphone at the other — and allegedly had a gun.”
The suspect was identified as 46-year-old Kevin Cichowski.
“The 911 caller, who was one of the victims, further reported the suspect, Kevin Cichowski, had threatened to kill them multiple times and stated he would kill law enforcement if they were called,” the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office said, WESH noted.
'ARRESTED': Florida Democratic gubernatorial candidate Kevin Cichowski is in custody after an armed domestic dispute.@FlaglerSheriff: “When a suspect has a weapon and has threatened to kill the victims and law enforcement, it’s critical that we do everything we can to safely…
— Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) April 13, 2026
WESH has more:
In the 911 call, the victim can be heard saying, “Our son came in here, hit my husband with a cane. We’re both disabled right now.”
ADVERTISEMENTThe caller goes on to say Cichowski threw her phone at her head, causing her to bleed.
Deputies located the two victims, who were hiding in a bedroom, and said they could not leave the home because one of them was bedridden.
After the victims were evacuated, deputies made contact with Cichowski and ordered him to surrender.
He did and was taken into custody without incident.
“I commend our deputies, RTCC analysts, and the 911 dispatchers for working together for a safe resolution and arrest the suspect before the situation escalated to a violent ending,” Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said in a news release.
“Cichowski was previously arrested in 2024 for domestic battery, domestic battery by strangulation, and
false imprisonment,” the release read.
“Cichowski is running for election for Governor of Florida. Cichowski previously ran for Palm Coast
mayor in 2021,” it continued.
CBS News noted:
He was charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of battery on a person over 65, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, tampering with a witness and two counts of robbery by sudden snatching.
Deputies said that while he was being taken to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility, he was making suicidal statement and then was placed into protective custody under a Baker Act.
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