Flagler County Cancels ‘Boots on the Ground’ Line Dancing Event at 11th Hour as Sheriff Blasts Permitting Flop

The Flagler County Fairgrounds were deserted early this afternoon, with a lone Flagler County Sheriff’s deputy standing by near the entrance in case would-be participants to a large “Boots on the Ground Line Dance Competition” cancelled on Friday showed up. No one did. 

Deputy County Administrator Jorge Salinas ordered the permit revoked on the recommendation of the county’s legal department. He did so after the organizer of the event “engaged in serial misrepresentation of the event, continually contradicted by his social media promotion,” according to the email Salinas sent General Services Director Mike Dixon before 11 a.m., calling off the event. 

Salinas informed county commissioners moments later that he had ordered the permit revoked barely 24 hours before it was due to start. 

By then Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly had sent a four-page letter to County Commission Chair Andy Dance, copying it to County Administrator Heidi Peito and Bunnell’s top officials, raising grave concerns. He wasn’t calling for its cancellation. But his letter had the ring of a warning. 

“I have significant concerns with this event being held in Flagler County and the

process that approved it,” he wrote. “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. I am hopeful and praying that no Deputy Sheriff or patron is injured as this situation could have been avoided had the ordinance been followed from the beginning.”

By the time Staly finished the letter at 1 a.m. Friday, the event was still on. Not least among his concerns was the organizer announcing on social media that while the event would have security provided by three off-duty Flagler County Sheriff’s Office deputies, there would be no metal detectors. “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,” the sheriff wrote, italicizing his irritation. 

The sheriff was also taken aback by the county’s suggestion at one point that if there were to be any issue at the event, it could be stopped and everyone would be sent home. “That is a naive response,” the sheriff said in an interview this afternoon, “because that would have created a riot. 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.”

Staly initially had not been worried about the event as such. His agency had signed off on the permit three weeks ago, when the county forwarded the permit (64 days after receiving it) and saw no issues with it. But since then, the disparity between the permit and event advertisement on social media began raising red flags. 

The organizer of the Boots on the Ground competition is Troy Reddin, whose performance name is Fat Ass. The Palm Coast resident has a long if petty history with local law enforcement, stemming mostly from recreational drug violations, and is currently out on $5,000 bond on a probation violation. He’d produced rap videos in South Bunnell several years ago, drawing large crowds and promoting the city to rewrite an ordinance that clamped down on such events. 

The line dancing fad was set off by 803Fresh’s song “Boots on the Ground,” a charmingly entrancing video with crossover appeal that’s triggered competitions and events in Black communities and elsewhere. Reddin’s permit described the event at the Fairgrounds as just such a competition. It would draw 500 people, have no alcohol, and be held between noon and 9 p.m. 

All that appeared to change as social media announcements swelled the expected audience to double or triple the original number. A “mobile” alcohol vendor was advertised, so were a dozen other vendors, so was an ATV, UTV, and Golf Cart event with trail

Rides, and the 9 p.m. end time was removed, all in violation of the permit, Staly pointed out in his letter. The for-profit event was being marketed in St. Johns, Volusia and Putnam counties, he said. 

Reddin had amended his permit on July 23 to enable alcohol sale, and told county officials that the vehicles would be for display only, though he contradicted himself in a social media posting, where he asked participants to use them, “just don’t tear up anything,” according to the sheriff’s letter. 

The concerns “validated” misgivings the county had apparently been having as well (Salinas used the term in one of his emails), leading to the revocation. At least one news channel reported inaccurately that Staly had cancelled the event, which led the agency to issue a detailed documentation of the timeline and concerns–not just with the event, but with the county’s handling of the permit. 

“We’re not trying to kill any event for people to enjoy in this community,” Staly said in an interview this afternoon. “All we’re trying to do is make sure that everybody has a safe and fun event without any issues. And unfortunately, I would say if the organizer had properly and completely disclosed in the application, we wouldn’t be here today, because then the county could have made a better-informed decision on the permit. With that said, had they followed their own ordinance, we wouldn’t be here today, because they would have immediately denied the request.” 

The permit had to be submitted at least 90 days before the event. It was not. Vendors were to each have an itinerant license, but none were identified in the permit. 

Staly has neither permitting authority nor the authority to revoke a permit. But the county’s Dennis Bobik was making him aware of social media chatter and announcements that differed from permitted activities, and the county seemed willing to let it happen anyway. 

Staly’s letter to Dance was not to stop the event, but to raise concerns about the way the county had handled the permit and to recommend a freeze any future permitting so that the process is reviewed and strengthened. 

“The Sheriff’s Office does not permit or regulate events on county property,” Staly wrote. “This is a county function. I recognize the county cannot regulate how an event is marketed but it does control the access to and use of its property and the permitting process. The Sheriff’s Office raised its concerns with county employees and was informed they could not or would not cancel the permit. When asked which county official would be on-site supervising the event as required by the ordinance, the initial response was there would be no one.”

Nevertheless, the sheriff’s voice carries weight and likely played into the county’s decision finally to cancel the event. From what Staly learned, Reddin reported that Dixon told him that “the sheriff canceled your permit. The sheriff is the most powerful elected official in the county, and when he wants something done, we have to do it well.” Dixon did not respond to an email asking for verification (nor did Salinas or Petito, who is on vacation, answer additional questions), though the statement is not inaccurate in the main: Staly is the most powerful elected official in the county, and rae is the time when his suggestion, recommendation or request isn’t honored by other governments. 

So the permit’s handling, the event’s cancellation and the sheriff’s letter are likely to cause a rethinking of the county’s event-permitting process, if not a rewrite of an ordinance–or at least a reassessment of its enforcement mechanisms. 

FCSO Special Events Ordinance, Permitting Process & Permitted 7-26-2025 Event