He left with a TikTok following and a plan to take the place down — though not for the same reasons as everyone else.
While much about Alligator Alcatraz remains a mystery, from exactly how many people are being detained at the facility to who is being brought in, TikTok user @skitheteamroski began posting a series of viral videos from inside the makeshift immigration detention camp recently thrown together by the state deep in the Everglades.
In the first video, the man, who appears to be a contractor or staff member of some sort, films himself lounging on an orange-and-navy-blue bunk bed inside what appears to be a dorm at the facility. Wearing light-washed jeans, he pans the camera around the empty room.
A TikTok he posted on July 8 shows what appears to be a trespass warning from the facility.
Screenshot via @skitheteamroski/TikTok
"LIVE AT ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ...TUNE IN FOR THE ONLY AVAILABLE LIVE FOOTAGE FROM THE 'CONCENTRATION CAMP' THAT TRUMP BUILT," the video is captioned.
Another video appears to show the inside of a laundry tent: a large white structure filled with laundry carts and rows of washers and dryers. A third video, set to Empire of the Sun's "Walking on a Dream," remixed with "You just gotta keep livin' man. L-I-V-I-N," an infamous Matthew McConaughey line from Dazed and Confused, shows him riding in a golf cart through what appears to be the campus
In one of his latest clips, apparently filmed in the staff dining hall, he sits at a long table eating Maruchan instant ramen and what looks to be some sort of mystery meat or bread. People can be seen in the background lining up for a meal.
"It doesn't look very appetizing, does it?" he asks while prodding the unidentifiable lump of food. He then tosses the container into the trash.
"A lot of officers quit just because they were trying to help out the residents/inmates," he says in a TikTok story posted July 8. "And their bosses kept telling them, 'If you help them out, like give them water, take them to the bathroom, you will be fired.'"
As of July 9, his videos have racked up more than 2 million views.
In a message to New Times via Instagram DM, the man says he was fired for sharing the videos online. A TikTok he posted on July 8 shows what appears to be a trespass warning from the facility.
He declined an interview, saying he could not speak further about his experience at Alligator Alcatraz "without compensation."
"I'm really not trying to elaborate more than I already have unless I'm compensated for doing so," he wrote via DM.
A spokesperson for Gov. Ron DeSantis' office did not respond to New Times' request for comment about the TikToker, including a question about who had employed him.
Last week, President Donald Trump, DeSantis, and their Republican allies officially unveiled the facility at the site of the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, a little-used airstrip in the middle of the Everglades. Florida Division of Emergency Management quickly built the site, which officials claim will detain more than 3,000 people. It began holding migrants late last week.
Since the state announced the plan, Friends of the Everglades and other veteran conservationists have pushed back in hopes of protecting the land and its vital ecosystems, home to countless habitats and endangered species, including the West Indian manatee, American crocodile, and Florida panther.
The TikTok videos from inside the facility come as major questions about the site remain unanswered, and as early reports of poor conditions there begin to surface.
According to the Miami Herald, newly arrived detainees have reported poor conditions: limited or no access to showers and toothbrushes, swarms of massive mosquitoes, broken toilets, and extreme temperature swings — from freezing cold to unbearably hot.
While families and attorneys are unsure of how to reach their loved ones and clients, both journalists and lawmakers have been denied entry to the facility.
"This is not only a humanitarian crisis for detainees, but also for those tasked to staff this facility," state Rep. Anna Eskamani told the Herald after hearing complaints about conditions at the facility. Eskamani is also concerned about the impact of disease-carrying mosquitoes on detainees and state workers.
Meanwhile, @skitheteamroski appears to have since launched a GoFundMe titled "Stand with Me Against Alligator Alcatraz" to raise money to hire a lawyer and take legal action against the facility.
At the time of this reporting, the fundraiser has raised $199 of its $2,600 goal.
"Hello, I worked at Alligator Alcatraz and was fired for sharing a video of footage of the inside," the fundraiser reads. "Many people want me to share my side of the story of what's actually going on inside, but I can't fully explain and show what I know without having a lawyer just in case this situation gets pushed to the next level."
"I'm only asking for my supporters to help me afford a lawyer," he continues, "and the next step is to try and get 'Alligator Alcatraz' shut down."
