JAILBROKEN

On December 19th, 2020, at 7:00 AM, Luis "Gabe" Vazquez set up his booth for a typical Saturday at the largest flea market in Polk County, Florida. By 9:00 AM, his life and status shifted from that of a private citizen to one of internet infamy nearly overnight, as agents from the local sheriff’s department stormed his booth with search and arrest warrants in hand. In this captivating memoir, Luis Gabriel recounts how a felony arrest for reselling alleged jailbroken streaming devices spiraled into a local media frenzy, all while facing the prospect of a five-year prison sentence. Presumed guilty by the police before even seeing a judge, he details the chain of events that unfolded behind the scenes—from the initial three-month-long law enforcement operation and subsequent raid to the discoveries made in the 90 days that followed. Over a six-month period, the Billion-dollar influencers behind the raids are exposed, a first-of-its-kind Firestick task force is dissected, and a potential jury pool is tainted by the actions of high-ranking law enforcement officials. This story has far-reaching implications for anyone who streams content, whether side-loaded or not, “jailbroken” or stock, and provides a detailed account of the lengths to which mega-powerful institutions will go to instill fear in us “common folk.”