Local, state and federal law enforcement agencies responded to the factory this week, including explosives specialists deployed by the Florida National Guard
Credit: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- An explosion at a Florida grenade factory triggered a massive emergency response on Sept. 16 from local, state and federal agencies — including explosives specialists deployed by the Florida National Guard
- The factory is owned by Pacem Defense, a weapons manufacturer co-founded by Florida Rep. Cory Mills
- At least one building was considered a “total loss,” authorities said
An explosion at a Florida grenade factory owned by Pacem Defense, a weapons manufacturer co-founded by Rep. Cory Mills, triggered a massive emergency response from local, state and federal agencies — including explosives specialists deployed by the Florida National Guard — on Wednesday, Sept. 16.
Dispatchers in Florida’s Taylor County received calls of an explosion at the Perry, Fla., facility, shortly before 7 p.m., according to the local sheriff’s office. Local police and fire agencies responded to the factory, which has been shuttered since late last year.
Only one security officer and one office employee were present at the facility at the time, the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement to PEOPLE.
At least one building was considered a “total loss,” authorities said.
Credit: Cory Mills/X
“The explosion resulted in significant damage to one building at the facility, which is considered a total loss,” Taylor County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Stacey Walker wrote in an email. “First responders secured and maintained the perimeter until the appropriate state and federal agencies arrived on scene.”
No injuries were reported, according to Walker.
Representatives for Mills’ congressional office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from PEOPLE on Friday, Sept. 18.
The outgoing Republican congressman — who was ousted in an August primary after a series of professional and personal scandals — told the outlet Florida Politics on Thursday, Sept. 17, that he had no details on the explosion and referred questions to the company’s current CEO.
Credit: MICHAEL M. SANTIAGO/POOL/AFP via Getty
The state and county emergency management divisions, the Florida State Fire Marshal’s Office, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Department of Defense also dispatched personnel to the scene in Perry, Fla., on Wednesday, according to Walker.
The Pentagon referred comment to the Florida National Guard.
“I can confirm that the Florida National Guard sent two Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Airmen” from the Jacksonville-based 125th Fighter Wing “to assist in the multi-agency response,” U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. M. Caitlin Brown wrote in an email to PEOPLE on Friday.
The Perry, Fla., police department referred a request for comment to the county sheriff’s office and the Florida State Fire Marshal’s Office said it could not “release any further details at this time” amid “an open and active investigation.”
PEOPLE reached out to the other agencies involved in the response, but did not immediately receive responses.
Credit: Saul Martinez/Bloomberg via Getty
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Mills told Florida Politics he had not been involved in management of the company since before his election to Congress in 2022. However, the outlet noted his federal financial disclosures indicated he had millions of dollars in assets connected to the weapons companies he founded and operated before entering politics.
“My business is going bankrupt because I’m not a part of it. It was very successful before,” Mills said in May.
Pacem Defense did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the explosion from PEOPLE on Thursday and Friday.
Credit: Cory Mills/Instagram
The House Ethics Committee and the Federal Election Commission (FEC) both investigated allegations that Mills improperly used his position as a founder and owner of the companies to secure federal contracts and illicitly fund his campaign.
The FEC closed its investigation with a dismissal of the allegations. The House Ethics Committee’s investigation, which began in November 2025 and is also centered on allegations of domestic abuse that Mills also denied, is still ongoing.
He has repeatedly denied all wrongdoing and was initially endorsed by President Donald Trump, though the president later claimed he told Mills to get out of the race.
“I told Congressman Cory Mills of Florida, a friend of mine, to get out of the Race, but he wouldn’t listen,” Trump wrote on Truth Social in August. “He thought he could win, so who can blame him?”
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