Florida Man Arrested in Clown Costume for Threatening Landscaper

Last week, a Florida man was taken into custody while dressed as a clown after allegedly threatening a landscaper with a 12-inch dagger.

Anthony Marzola, who seemed to be channeling his inner clown, was arrested on Thursday following the incident involving Brian Hanson. It happened on St. Petersburg Street, near Marzola’s smoke shop, just after 2 p.m.

The arrest report noted that Marzola was fully dressed in clown attire during both the threat and his subsequent arrest. He reportedly emerged from his car wielding a large dagger, approaching Hanson, who was completely unaware and couldn’t hear Marzola’s angry approach.

As Marzola allegedly screamed about not being “reaped,” Hanson spotted the weapon and quickly used his lawnmower to create a barrier between himself and the raging clown.

Interestingly, Marzola, who owns a psychedelic-themed smoke shop nearby, did not clarify why he was in costume that day.

For his booking photo, he switched to a standard orange prison jumpsuit—looking quite serious, I suppose.

He now faces charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and has been held at the county jail on a $15,000 bond, with strict orders to stay away from Hanson.

Florida does seem to attract its fair share of peculiar incidents involving clowns. In a separate event back in April, someone dressed as Ronald McDonald was arrested for trespassing at a local shopping plaza devoid of any McDonald’s fast food outlets.

“You look like a clown,” one officer remarked during the arrest.

To which the suspect simply replied, “No! I’m a clown, I’m stupid,” confirming what seemed pretty clear.

In another bizarre case, a man found with cocaine, marijuana, and a clown mannequin in his trunk claimed he had no idea the handcuffs were still attached—he thought he had simply unearthed a dummy from a veteran’s basement. Quite the excuse, isn’t it?