Florida mom arrested for inciting 500-person riot at skating rink that canceled her daughter's birthday party

A Florida mom has been accused of inciting a 500-person riot at a skating rink in the Tampa Bay area after the owners canceled her daughter's 18th birthday party, which resulted in the arrest of 26 people, per the Miami Herald.

Stephanie Pedroso, 36, was arrested and taken into custody on Wednesday over the May 18 incident. She has been booked on charges of inciting a riot and unlawful use of a two-way communication device to "weaponize rioters," the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said.

Investigators said that Pedroso "called for violence" after Astro Skate in Brandon canceled her daughter's after-hours birthday party because Pedroso had failed to meet a contact requirement by not hiring off-duty deputies for the event.

After being informed about the cancellation the day before the event, Pedroso used social media to encourage as many people as possible to "turn up" and "confront law enforcement," according to police.

"Using social media to weaponize our youth is absolutely deplorable," said Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister in the news release. "As a parent, I cannot fathom what went through this woman's mind when she put lives at risk to provoke this mayhem."

According to authorities, Pedroso used her daughter's Instagram live video stream and made "multiple violent and vulgar statements" while also offering people money to participate, as per video evidence.

The riot lasted nearly six hours and included approximately 500 people. Police arrested 26 juveniles and six adults. At least one person was injured and five local businesses were damaged, according to the sheriff's office.

Astro Skate canceled its Sunday All Night skate event the following weekend, citing "safety concerns," per the paper.

"I want to be clear: using social media to encourage people to riot and destroy businesses is completely unacceptable, and we will not tolerate that," said Sheriff Chronister. "This serves as a stark reminder of how quickly situations can spiral out of control and show the importance of responsible behavior and the consequences of inciting violence."