- December 4, 2025
Flagler County officials revoked the permit for the "Boots on the Ground Line Dancing Competition" just one day before it was scheduled to begin on July 26 at the Flagler County Fairgrounds. The cancellation, based on public safety concerns, has drawn backlash on social media, with critics accusing the county of racial discrimination, as the event was expected to draw a primarily Black audience.
The "Boots on the Ground Line Dancing Competition," organized by Troy Reddin—stage name "Fat A--"—was initially approved as a small, alcohol-free line dancing competition capped at 500 attendees. County officials, however, said that promotionals for the event told a very different story, advertising alcohol vendors, ATV trail rides, and attendance in the thousands.
Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly voiced his concerns in a letter to County Chairman Andy Dance and the Board of Commissioners, citing several inconsistencies between the event permit and its advertising.
"This permit should have been cancelled! In fact, it should have been denied from the very beginning," Staly wrote.
In a public safety notice, the Flagler County Sheriff's Office communicated that the previously permitted line dancing event had been cancelled due to an improper permit application and concerns with public safety.
After some public confusion and speculation about who canceled the event itself, the Sheriff's Office clarified in a media advisory that it had been Deputy County Administrator Jorge Salinas who pulled the plug, emphasizing that the Sheriff’s Office has no authority to cancel events permitted by Flagler County Government. But some Facebook users were less than impressed.
"I really hope a good explanation for this comes out, but this really smells of denying a permit last minute because you didn’t like who was attending," wrote Dylan Edward Howeller.
"Let’s be clear, this was only labeled a public safety concern because a majority Black crowd was expected. If this event had been organized by another race, there likely wouldn’t have been any public safety concerns at all. Stop using the permit issue as a convenient excuse," wrote Ni Reed.
Following the backlash, Sheriff Staly is calling for a full review, and potential rewrite of the county’s event permit rules. He also recommended a freeze on new permit applications until that review is complete.
