An unhinged charter boat captain who bullied a young fisherman then jumped on his dinghy and threatened to bash him lied about his military record.
Brock Thomas Horner, 40, was caught on camera harassing Gage Towles, 22, while out on the water in Punta Gorda, Florida, on April 1 following a previous close call with another boat.
Local police charged him with felony burglary with assault or battery, adding to a lengthy criminal record spanning over two decades.
The disgraced boat captain operates Tarpon Coast Fishing Charters and had previously used his military veteran status as a marketing tool on the now-deleted social media accounts and websites.
‘Brock is a Florida Gulf Coast University graduate and a US Army Ranger Veteran (Paratrooper),’ Tarpon’s website read.
‘Brock is an Operation Enduring Freedom / Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF/OIF veteran certified in CPR, AED, and Pediatrics. Brock is also part of the Wounded Warriors alumni association.’
However, his official military record has no mention of him being a Ranger and the US Army Service Center confirmed to DailyMail.com that he never served with a Ranger battalion.
Horner’s record showed he instead was a human resources specialist, after enlisting in August 2003 and being discharged in April 2007.
Horner apologized for his behavior in a lengthy statement from his lawyer and friend Scott Weinberg, which played up his military service but tellingly did not mention anything about him being a Ranger.
He only reached the rank of private first class a month before his discharge.
Horner was deployed to Afghanistan, as he claimed, for a year from March 2005 to March 2006, but what he actually did there is murky.
A HR specialist is generally posted to a military base to support frontline troops by doing paperwork for the unit they are attached to, but his record includes a Combat Action Badge, which is earned through participation in combat.
However, it may have been awarded to his entire unit regardless of him actually coming under fire, or the base may have been attacked or shelled.
Horner’s Afghanistan Campaign Medal also has an Arrowhead attachment, which is only awarded to soldiers who did a combat parachute jump, helicopter assault landing, combat glider landing or amphibious assault landing.
His record includes a parachutist badge, as learning to jump is required even for many support staff attached to a parachute unit, but the circumstances of him qualifying for an Arrowhead are unclear.
An explanation could be that Horner served as an infantryman in an airborne unit, where he earned the combat medals, but was reassigned to a HR role either for misconduct or after an injury.
The rest of Horner’s medals are standard decorations awarded to soldiers for good conduct and serving overseas.
Weinberg’s statement described Horner as a ‘decorated combat veteran who was severely injured in Afghanistan’ and suffered a traumatic brain injury in combat.
Horner was not awarded a Purple Heart for combat injuries, but the medal was at the time not given to soldiers who suffered TBIs.
The statement also claimed the TBI led to Horner being discharged as 100 percent disabled. Medical records are private, so there is no way to verify the claims, but property records showed Horner’s house had a disabled veteran exemption.
Weinberg complained in his statement that: ‘Some have gone so far as to question his military service and accuse him of stolen valor.’
Florida has strict stolen valor laws that Horton could fall afoul of even if his only exaggeration was falsely claiming to be a Ranger to promote his business.
The Florida Senate only last month approved a law to make lying about a military record a third-degree felony.
Horner’s criminal history has more than a dozen charges, including some while he was active military, ranging from DUI to assault and theft.
The first was in March 2002 when he was charged with petty theft and dealing in stolen property, but the most serious were a year later.
Horner was on three occasions in 2003 charged with battery, on January 29, February 11, and New Year’s Eve when he punched a minor in the face.
Police in Horner’s home town were called to the car park of the Port Charlotte Town Square Mall about 9.40pm on December 30, 2003, where Jesse Schorsch, 16, told them Horner punched him in the face.
‘Jesse was lying down on the ground… he had a black eye with some blood trickling down from a cut on his face,’ the probable cause affidavit read.
Two witnesses told police that two cars entered the car park and turned around after spotting Jesse, then the two groups got out and surrounded him.
‘They started to talk to Jesse and then [Horner] hit Jesse in the face with one punch, which knocked him to the ground and knocked him out… Jesse fell straight to the ground and hit his head on the concrete sidewalk,’ the affidavit read.
Horner was described as having a crew cut, having enlisted just four months earlier.
Jesse suffered two brain contusions and was rushed for specialist treatment to a hospital in St Petersburg, Florida.
He was at first taken to St Joseph’s Hospital in Port Charlotte where sheriff’s deputy Frank Black met Dr Frank Colunga in the emergency room.
‘Dr Colunga advised that Jesse had two contusions on his brain and need to be transported to (Johns Hopkins) All Children’s Hospital in St Petersburg,’ Deputy Black wrote in his probable cause affidavit.
Meanwhile, Jesse’s mother Michelle Bunch arrived at St Joseph’s and demanded Horner be charged, the document continued.
Deputy Black went to interview Brock at his Port Charlotte home, who admitted to punching Jesse but claimed he did not know his ‘injuries were as extensive as they were’, before the officer put him in handcuffs.
Horner was adjudicated guilty after pleading no contest and was put on probation for 12 months and ordered to pay $6,004 restitution to Jesse.
And as part of his sentencing, the now-notorious boat captain was ordered to take anger management therapy if it was available through the US Army.
Horner was in the same year charged with possessing a weapon on school property, but the case was later dropped.
Two DUIs followed his discharge, the first on March 15, 2008, for which he was jailed for 30 days, and on April 5, 2014, where the charge was downgraded to reckless driving and he got probation after completing a DUI course.
Horner violated his parole for both the earlier 2003 battery and the 2014 reckless driving charges and was re-arrested, but not jailed.
There were other parole violations in 2009, 2010, and 2016, and a disorderly conduct charge in 2010, the adjudication of which was withheld by a judge after he entered a no contest plea.
Other crimes on his record are numerous traffic infringements, both on the road and on the water, including driving without a license and speeding through a manatee protection zone.
Horner now faces criminal charges from local, state, and federal agencies and dire professional consequences.
He was charged with felony burglary with assault or battery and released from the Charlotte County Jail on Saturday morning on $20,000 bail.
The US Coast Guard and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission are also investigating and may file additional charges.
His business websites and social media pages were taken offline and his reputation appeared to be in tatters.
One of his close friends, Jonny Rickert, agreed Horner was in the wrong and deserved jail time but called for the harassment of his family to stop.
‘His family doesn’t deserve the death/rape threats they’ve received, his head doesn’t belong on a spike, his kid should be able to play little league, and people shouldn’t throw dead animals in his front yard,’ he wrote online.
‘Real murders, rapist, women beaters and child molesters get better treatment online than his family has in the past couple of days.’
Towels, through his lawyer, also called for his supporters to stop harassing Horner and his family and let the legal process play out.
‘There is no room for violence or threats of violence directed at innocent individuals because of Mr Horner’s actions,’ his statement read.
‘Mr Horner has been arrested for his criminality; we kindly ask for individuals to trust the criminal justice system to work through this process to make sure that he receives the necessary and proper treatment that he so desperately needs, and the rehabilitation that is sought after.
‘We kindly ask all people to refrain from violence and vulgarity during this process and to cease all threats made to Brock Horner, his family, and/or his attorney.’
Horner apologized for his behavior in a lengthy statement from his lawyer and longtime friend Scott Weinberg.
‘What began as a moment of frustration and concern escalated in a way it simply should not have,’ he said.
‘Gage handled the situation with impressive composure and class, and that level-headedness helped prevent things from becoming far worse.
‘Brock is not proud of how he acted. But it’s important to remember: We are not the sum of our worst day. That video captured one moment – not the whole of who he is.
‘Since the video went viral, Brock’s business has been destroyed, his reputation damaged, and his family – including his wife and mother – have been harassed and even threatened.
‘Some have gone so far as to question his military service and accuse him of stolen valor.’
Weinberg insisted Horner ‘stood up when this country asked him to’ and his military history ‘deserves to be respected’.
Horner, during his abuse of the young fisherman, also bragged about his military service as a justification for his actions and called Towles a ‘p***y-a** f**k’.
‘I appreciate you for your service, bro, but that doesn’t give you the right… you don’t gotta run through the middle of the bridge,’ Towles replied.
Weinberg begged thousands watching the damning video to show restraint and forgiveness, despite Horner displaying neither.
‘We live in a time when online outrage can quickly spiral into personal destruction. But just as Gage showed grace in the moment, I ask others to do the same now,’ he said.
‘Let’s hold people accountable – but also give them room to grow and make amends. Brock is committed to doing exactly that.’
Weinberg is not handling Horner’s criminal case, which was instead assigned to local public defender David Maijala, according to court records.
Towles posted disturbing footage in which he repeatedly told Horner he ‘has the wrong guy’, which only seemed to infuriate him more.
Horner refused to accept Towles’ explanation and clambered aboard the young man’s boat while threatening to attack him.
Horner’s outrageous tirade culminated in him jumping onto Towles’ tiny vessel like a pirate boarding party.
‘I’m 300 f**king days on the water, I’m the best charter captain you’ll ever f**king meet in your motherf**king life. You cuss me out… Apologize,’ Horner screeched as he menacingly cornered Towles.
Towles frantically tried to get the much larger man to back down: ‘Chill bro please, please bro, bro I’m a kid.’
The altercation escalated as Horner doubled down on his abuse, despite the 22-year-old maintaining he wasn’t involved in the early-morning clash.
Towles tried to defuse the situation by explaining that another fisherman who was also out on the water hours earlier was the one who shouted at Horner and failed to keep his lights on.
‘You don’t cuss me out, talk s**t to me… you and your motherf***ing friend are lucky I didn’t come here and f**k you both up, do it again and watch what happens,’ Horner threatened.
Towles alternated between repeatedly apologizing and trying to explain that Horner had the wrong guy.
‘It made me feel so weak but I was already having a horrible day, and this was the (icing on) the cake,’ Towles later explained when he shared the video.
‘I look at it now like I possibly can save another person from Brock Horner or possibly someone’s life by getting this captain off the water.’
Initially, Horner and his mates were at a safe distance from Towles’ boat, but rapidly approached the spot where the 22-year-old had set up his fishing gear.
‘You were cussing me out,’ Horner shouted from a distance.
Towles replied casually, pointing to a part of the waterway nearby as he said: ‘Nah that was the dude in that boat. Were you the one that came through in the middle of the bridge? I was here, but you ran in front of the dude over there.’
When he realized that Horner was not letting it go, Towles said it was ‘not the time,’ and that he’s ‘not going to do this’, which only infuriated the seasoned fisherman more.
‘You want to f**king go?’ he asked Towles, who was fishing on the water solo.
Towles said that he did not want any trouble, but wanted Horner to ‘get the f**k out of here’.
‘Big tough guy,’ Horner hit back from the deck of his from his 2024 27ft 2700 Pathfinder Hybrid.
‘Big tough guy? You pulled up on me motherf***er,’ Towles said. ‘What are you trying to do, act like a tough guy in front of your buddies?’
Horner said he didn’t need to ‘act tough’ in front of his mates, because they all ‘know I’m f**king tough… we’re all f***ing war veterans’.
This revelation prompted Towles to thank Horner for his service in the hope of lowering the temperature of the argument, but to no avail.
Instead, Horner only grew more belligerent until he climbed about Towles’ tiny boat while the young man cowered on the other side and began calling him ‘sir’.
After more than a minute of close-range abuse, Horner got back on his boat and Towles got away as fast as possible.
The Punta Gorda Police Department was so inundated with reports of the incident after the video went viral that they had to put out an urgent request to stop members of the community from calling about it.
‘The Punta Gorda Police Department is aware of the incident involving a dispute between two adult boaters under the Barron Collier Bridge on April 1, 2025,’ the department said.
‘A police report has been filed with the department, and the incident is currently under investigation.
‘The event has garnered significant attention on social media, and we are receiving numerous calls to dispatch requesting that the department take action.
‘Please do not call to report this situation; it is currently being investigated by both the Punta Gorda Police, FWC, and the US Coast Guard. Additional calls to our dispatch could slow our response to situations that require immediate attention.’
The trio of men who were on the boat with Horner have also been condemned for not helping Towles or de-escalating the situation.
One of the men steered the boat closer to Towles, which gave Horner the opportunity to jump on board.
Austin Stewart, who was on the boat with Horner at the time, has since broken his silence to insist he had no way of knowing what the captain was about to do.
‘Yes, I was on the boat when everything went down, but I wasn’t involved in the situation that caused it,’ he said.
‘I’m young myself and did everything I could to calm things down… I didn’t expect Brock to jump in the other boater’s boat – it caught all of us off guard.
‘I want to be clear, I condemn Brock’s actions and in no way support what happened.’
Stewart said he is now ‘fully cooperating’ with law enforcement officials who are investigating the situation.
Another of the men on Horner’s boat, Johnny Riggs, is a fellow combat veteran and North Port Firefighter whose fire chief Scott Titus defended him online, claiming he was ‘known for his calm, easygoing demeanor’.
‘Firefighter Riggs has saved many lives and influenced a positive outcome on many calls in our city, not to mention his sacrifice to fight for our freedom in his military career,’ he wrote.
‘We will continue to honor and value his past service to country and his investment in our community as we determine the facts of the case and address them.’
This wasn’t good enough from locals, who criticized Riggs for failing to do his duty as a first responder and prevent the altercation.
‘Your celebrated veteran sat on his ass like a little passenger princess so cut the bulls**t and stop making up excuses,’ one wrote.
Another added: ‘These moments are what define you and Johnny Riggs choose to do nothing.’
Towles has been inundated with support from the local fishing community.
‘I’m a local marine professional and Marine combat veteran. I’m truly ashamed at Brock and everyone else’s conduct on his boat ,’ one supporter said.
‘This is not how veterans or boat pros should carry themselves, and I’m sorry you had to experience that. These waters should provide therapy and solitude, not add drama and trauma to our lives.’
Another added: ‘So he boarded your vessel, without invitation, with intent to harm.. that’s piracy punishable up to life in prison. Press charges.’
‘You handled this like a real man. You did everything to de-escalate and defuse him. The amount of strength and power it took to remain calm and collected proves who the bigger man is. Well done buddy. Your parents should be proud,’ a third wrote.
