Overview:
The arrest of Haitian media personality Carel Pedre following a domestic dispute has placed him in ICE custody, illustrating how contact with local law enforcement — regardless of the charge — can quickly trigger detention before a criminal case is resolved.
For two weeks, Haitians around the world have been abuzz after a domestic violence arrest that could have been a standard criminal court matter instead placed one of the diaspora’s most visible media figures into federal immigration detention — awaiting his fate with deportation looming.
Carel Pedre, the host of the popular program Chokarella and backer of numerous digital series, remains in the custody of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following his Dec. 21 arrest in Tamarac, Fla., from a domestic dispute that played out in a neighborhood street. How he ended up spending the holidays in ICE custody is a drama-filled saga that illustrates how brushes with the law can quickly upend lives in an era where Trump administration officials say their goal is to conduct deportations at the speed of “Amazon Prime packages, but with humans.”
With Pedre’s influencer status igniting social media, the arrest also opened a door for unsubstantiated allegations against him, ignited debates about domestic violence in the community, analyses of double standards for privileged people, and spurred speculation about Pedre’s marriage and family life. Florida’s Sunshine Laws, which make public records readily accessible, also unearthed other matters, such as two prior cases where Pedre was accused of stalking violence that were reclosed, meaning resolved after being reopened.
“This is a textbook case of so many things — our biases, lack of understanding and lack of education on some things as a community,” said Frandley Julien, an immigration attorney based in Miami who does not represent Pedre. “Even of people who come from Haiti, where they came from a position of privilege, who cannot adapt to American society.”
Pedre has pleaded not guilty to the domestic violence charge. His attorney has not responded to requests for comment, and his family has asked for privacy. Only Chokarella has issued statements, saying updates will be shared when they do not jeopardize the legal proceedings.
However, how Pedre ended up in detention offers an instructive moment for the community. In just two days, a hardworking entrepreneur from humble beginnings in northwest Haiti — an apparently devoted father of two and well-liked colleague — joined the growing ranks of people from all walks of life who enter ICE custody, caught in the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda and a complex legal process with potentially long-lasting consequences.
“It is extremely common to have these types of cases,” Julien said. “One thing that’s interesting is that the ICE case will outlive the criminal case.”
Who is Carel Pedre?
Pedre’s immigration status is now the main subject of speculation by internet sleuths, legal experts and his media rivals. People have weighed in about the validity of his marriage, why he was living with a girlfriend, reasons Haitians date non-Haitians, and – most vehemently – women making a choice to protect themselves or their significant other when they feel threatened.
Two camps emerged: a #freecarel camp, which insists the argument just got out of control, and a #carelpedre side, which has posted unsavory allegations against Pedre, sometimes reeking with homophobic slurs, and resurfaced past video clips meant to show an elitist attitude.
Coupled with the domestic violence allegations, an emerging portrait of Pedre suggests two contrasting sides. One is the affable, prolific, and visionary entrepreneur the public knows. The other is an opportunistic, entitled figure who has made disparaging remarks about women, poor people, and certain artists.
Either way, Pedre’s emergence as a polarizing figure is a far cry from what the public expected when his star began to rise after the 2010 earthquake that brought him to prominence.
Pedre’s site, carelpedre.com, details his work as a radio and TV personality and philanthropist, who spends much of his time with Haitian celebrities around the world. While documenting the artists’ journeys in the arts, music and entertainment worlds on his many shows, he also works as a brand ambassador for numerous entities and supports several charities.
From Port-de-Paix to Port-au-Prince, a new voice rises
His own journey began in Port-de-Paix, the northwestern Haiti town where he was born to Fritz Pèdre, a technician with the public company Électricité d’Haïti (EDH), and Michelle Pèdre, who worked at the General Directorate of Taxes (DGI).
Locals interviewed by The Haitian Times recall that Pedre attended the National School of the Brothers of Christian Instruction for primary school, then Notre-Dame de Lourdes College (CNDL) for secondary studies. Even as a teenager, he distinguished himself for his intelligence at the local radio station Mélodie FM. He stood out as a promising communicator, a youngster with linguistic talent and remarkable access in the community. He also had a strong interest in information technology.
Pedre once described his attraction to broadcasting in emotional terms.
“Every time I am faced with the need to talk about my beginnings in radio, two feelings come over me: the desire to do better, to go further, and the urge to shed tears,” he reportedly said in a post attributed to him on Africultures.com.
“It was common for me to participate in class debates, whether I was on committees or leading rallies, in reality, I was drawn to microphones.”
At age 20, Pedre went to pursue higher education in Port-au-Prince, beginning his university studies at the Higher School of Infotronics of Haiti (ESIH). People who knew them tell The Haitian Times that Pedre and his two brothers, Steve and Valéry, lived in Tabarre for some time.
During this period, Pedre joined Radio Planèt Kreyòl, then Radio ONE in the capital. In 2007, Pedre began hosting Digicel Stars, Haiti’s top TV show and talent competition, then “Ayiti Deploge,” Digicel’s “Kiyes Ki Toro” – a Shark Tank like competition.
Fashion designer Phelicia Dell met Pedre around that time, first as an invitee to “Ayiti Deploge, then frequent collaborator on events. The VèVè Collections owner says she knows him as a “cool, professional, always there to help.”
“He cares about the image of Haiti, as he always shows through his work. Whatever you’re doing that’s positive, he’ll be there,” Dell recalls. “As an artist, he has a lot of respect for art, for people working hard to change the narrative about Haiti.”
Pedre is also a perfectionist, she said, of his work ethic. His critiques of some performers whom he believed needed to refine their work offended some at times, leading to riffs online.
“For Carel to tell you you’re good, you’re good. He doesn’t really flatter people,” Dell said. “He’s been pushing [backing] people for a long time.”
Out of disaster, new platforms arise
When the 2010 earthquake struck, Pedre was among the first and most consistent in updating people about developments through social media. Afterward, Pedre expanded from radio into digital video and online platforms. His program Chokarella, launched in 2010, built a massive audience in Haiti and the Diaspora, combining news, commentary and cultural coverage.
As technology advanced, so did his web-based content, reaching tens of thousands of people with his morning show alone and making Pedre a giant in Haitian media and entertainment. His Chokarella YouTube channel alone boasts 275,000 subscribers and 38 million views off nearly 2,600 videos posted since 2012. Of the visual podcasts he recently launched with Giuliano “DJ K9” Puzo, the gabfest-style “De Tout et De Rien” — French for “about everything and nothing” — is a crowd favorite. During these moments of camaraderie and online postings, many addressed Pedre as “Ono,” a casual mark of respect short for “your honor.”
In the U.S., he became a familiar face at high-profile events, such as Haitians at Harvard in Boston, hosted panels featuring politicians in Brooklyn, and “vibed” at concerts and shows around Florida.
“Carel did not deserve this,” said Saurel Celestin, a music promoter based in New York who has worked with Pedre. “He has done so much for Haiti, for this community, to see this happen to him is very sad.”
Many credit Pedre for showing a generation of youngsters in Haiti a way to make a living with just their phone and media savvy. He kept Haitians abroad connected to the homeland and each other across borders, with web-based series that profile hitmakers, up-and-comers, people in the periphery and the issues that inspire them.
“As an artist, you haven’t made it until you go on Chokarella or Plezi Mizik,” Celestin said. “A lot of people criticized him for being arrogant. But to me, those are other Haitian media figures who wanted to take his place, and he didn’t take crap from them.”
Landing in Florida amid crisis
In the face of escalating insecurity in Haiti, Pedre relocated to Florida about two years ago — a move that aligned with a broader wave of displacement from the Port-au-Prince area, where 1.4 million people were uprooted in 2024. Unverified reports claim that Pedre allegedly faced threats from gangs and accused him of being too close to certain prominent figures, but neither rumor could be independently verified as of this writing.
In January 2024, according to public records, he and Tanya Marie Lemaire married in Broward County. The mother of two, based in Sunrise, a town adjacent to Tamarac, operates Piece of Cake and Events by Tanya Lemaire — continuing a family baking tradition that originated in Port-au-Prince.
The pair have known each other since at least 2010, according to online archives showing them collaborating on a post-earthquake project. They share a daughter, now 16. Pedre also has a younger daughter.
Adjusting to life out of Florida appears to have come with some friction.
In March 2024, Pedre was accused of “stalking violence after service” by two people, Erwin Papillon and Soraha Papillon. The type of charge is levied when “a person who willfully, maliciously, and repeatedly follows, harasses, or cyberstalks another person” continues that behavior after they are served a formal notice, or protective injunction, to stop. Both cases are noted as being reclosed, which occurs when the case stops and resumes without a formal outcome. Details about them are sealed from the public.
Pedre’s relationship with his girlfriend, Richelle Robinson, appeared to have some tension. Few details are publicly available about their connection, but social media posts show she is of Jamaican descent, works in real estate, and frequently shared product reviews. Other posts depict her and Pedre together in various settings — including a barbershop where she’s cutting his hair and cultural events where she wears the Haitian flag.
Now, with Pedre in ICE custody, Robinson has remained mostly silent. Still, she continues to share videos from happier times, showing moments she and Pedre spent together.
Domestic dispute erupts over social media video
A social media post, incidentally, is why the pair argued in their apartment in Tamarac around midnight that Sunday morning of Dec. 21. According to the Broward Sheriff’s Office arrest report, the quarrel occurred after Robinson posted an image on social media that showed Pedre’s “butt crack” that he wanted removed. Pedre took Robinson’s phone and left the apartment, and locked her out of the home from his phone.
A nude Robinson followed Pedre to return her phone, officers reported. She either “did a flip” and fell, as Pedre told deputies, or Pedre pushed her to the ground, as Robinson claims. A neighbor said she allegedly saw Pedre choking Robinson, a claim she denies.
Deputies arrested Pedre and drove him to jail.
To some South Florida residents, being in Tamarac doomed Pedre from the start. The suburb, about 15 miles west of Fort Lauderdale, is a quiet area of planned developments, manicured golf courses, and tall shrubbery that creates a sense of seclusion. It is also the site of a triple murder, where an estranged husband, a known domestic abuser, killed his wife, her father and a neighbor — leading to nearly 20 people at the local station being fired in September. Therefore, many residents say, officers there “are not taking any chances” not making domestic arrests.
Pedre, once led away early Sunday, was booked into the Broward County Main Jail in downtown Fort Lauderdale on a domestic battery charge. Authorities also placed Pedre on an immigration hold. Such detainers are a routine part of law enforcement in many Florida jurisdictions that allow ICE to pick up any immigrant arrested to meet mass deportation goals.
The following day, Monday, a judge reviewing the preliminary charge set bond for release at $1,000, which Pedre posted that day. Broward court documents list Vanessa Joseph as his bond depositor, meaning the person providing the funds or collateral.
That Tuesday, Pedre formally entered a plea of not guilty and demanded a trial by jury, according to the court files.
The video that caused the initial brouhaha was also removed from Robinson’s Instagram account, coinciding with her follower count ballooning.
48 hours for ICE, a lifetime of consequences to process
What happens here — some attorneys and legal observers say — is critical for the next set of events. While domestic violence allegations fall under purview of the criminal courts, arrests also trigger the immigration system, which often moves much more quickly.
With the arrival of ICE looming because of the detainer, Pedre’s lawyer Jeremy McLymont filed a motion for the judge to revoke the bond so Pedre could wait in the Fort Lauderdale jail while the domestic case is resolved. Unfortunately for Pedre, that was too late to stop ICE.
On Wednesday, Christmas Eve morning, the criminal judge called Pedre’s name to go over the bond revocation motion during a virtual hearing. Silence answered.
As it turns out, ICE had picked up Pedre before the 10 a.m. hearing. Later that day, Pedre appeared in a detainee search as being at the Krome Detention Center in Miami. After one night, they transferred him to Florida Soft South Side, better known as “Alligator Alcatraz,” where the influencer spent Christmas. He has since been returned to Krome in Miami.
Lawyers, legal experts and immigrant advocates say Pedre’s transfer into immigration custody reflects a broader reality for immigrants in the United States: Any arrest — from low-level traffic offenses to serious allegations such as domestic violence — can quickly place a noncitizen into deportation proceedings, often before a judge hears the underlying case.
“We have seen a spike during the last four, five months,” Julien says, about ICE custodial arrests triggered by 287(g) agreements. “It’s being applied systematically.
Florida, in particular, leads the nation in the most arrests and detainer requests in the Haitian community. Long a proponent of strict immigration, Florida’s $39 million in ICE contracts puts it atop the 40 states with whom ICE has 1,275 agreements as of Dec. 31 to help identify and detain immigrants.
Deportations at ‘Amazon Prime’ speed goal of new system
Why ICE issued the detainer in the first place is still unknown, though speculation about the type of visa that allowed him into the U.S. and his residency status is rampant online. Such uncertainty mirrors the path of many immigrants who have been arrested for a wide range of alleged offenses and subsequently transferred to ICE custody. Charges may vary in severity and their status may or may not be clear, but the mechanism is often the same: an arrest creates a pathway into immigration detention, even when criminal cases are unresolved or later dismissed.
Federal immigration authorities have spoken openly about these actions. At an Arizona conference earlier this year, they discussed funneling people through the deportation process as quickly as possible, saying they were aiming for “[Amazon] Prime, but with human beings.”
With Trump’s mass deportation executive order aimed at bypassing standard proceedings — where someone had to be convicted and sentenced before deporting them — immigration enforcement no longer depends on the severity of a charge or the outcome of a criminal case. As a result, immigrants can be detained before they can bond out or the evidence is evaluated.
Julien says he has had to defend Haitians arrested for an array of suspected offenses that end up facing immigration charges too. Among them was a mother who was spanking her daughter, a cultural holdover in many Haitian households, and a husband whose wife called the police over a trivial matter. Even though the husband is a permanent resident, he still had an immigration hold placed when arrested.
“Domestic violence is pervasive in the Haitian community, unfortunately,” Julien said, adding that most of his cases are of men abusing women. “We have too much of it.
“But some people take it too far,” he said. “They don’t have control over their impulses.”
Map showing where ICE has 287(g) agreements in place that allows local and state law enforcement agencies to arrest and detain people for potential removal. Source: Ice.gov
Case reveals rifts in community perspectives
As Pedre’s family navigates the judicial and immigration systems, Haitians have been divided in their reactions to the domestic dispute and response to Pedre’s arrest as a celebrity.
Velina E. Charlier, a well-known manbo, said in a Facebook comment that she hoped the experience would be a new opportunity for Pedre to shed light on immigrants in detention.
“The same way you did during Jan. 12, telling us what you were living, I’m counting on you to keep your voice, to talk about the many immigrants from different nations in ICE prisons. The road is hard, but I know you’ll have the strength to get across it.”
On the opposing side are people like Patricia Latour, a former collaborator of Pedre’s. She suggested in a post on Dec. 26 that the focus should be on victims of domestic violence, not Pedre, for his celebrity status. Another social media user said the case would give air to the alleged wrongdoing Pedre may have engaged in. Neither offered definitive proof of any ill behaviors, but the suggestions alone have fueled discussions about stopping people with privilege in Haiti from getting away with harmful acts.
Back in Port-de-Paix, residents seemed indifferent to Pedre’s predicament.
Some people said they still feel slighted by him after he declined to participate in the town’s carnival festivities in 2021.
“He has never engaged in any local activity,” said Pierla Julien, 27. “He’s no longer proud to be from the Northwest. It’s time we give him that same energy.
From a general standpoint, she added, “Violence against women must stop and be punished with the utmost severity. Carel must face justice — no one is above the law.”
A childhood acquaintance of Pedre’s, speaking anonymously for fear of retribution, said Pedre is facing an indefensible position.
“It’s hard for me to stand with Carel, even though we grew up in the same neighborhood,” the friend said. “I can’t support him when he’s done wrong,” said the friend.
Steve Pedre, one of his brothers, wrote on a Facebook post with the #FreeCarel hashtag that support had outnumbered disparaging posts about the influencer.
“From where he is now, he’s getting the messages,” the brother said. “He’ll be back stronger and better.”
Dell, the fashion designer, said she feels sorry that Pedre and his family are going through this experience. From her interactions with him, Dell said she is certain Pedre will do the right thing, whatever that may be, when he is able.
“I’m just waiting for him to say exactly what happened,” she said. “If he did anything wrong, I know he’s the type that would apologize to the woman, to the community, if he really did something wrong. He has a very strong character.”
Saturday, a change.org petition began circulating, asking ICE and Trump to release Pedre that has since received 12,000 signatures. In the petition, the authors said: “We understand that immigration laws are complex and must be upheld; however, detaining individuals like Carel, who are contributing members of their communities, only serves to fortify unjust prejudices and hinder social progress.”
Others writing in social media said such appeals are misplaced and reek of preferential treatment for Pedre because he is prominent, especially considering that some 520,000 Haitian TPS holders are subject to deportation, and no such petition has emerged for them.
Pedre’s immigration case will move forward separately from his criminal matter. Depending on his immigration status, he may request voluntary departure, Julien, the attorney, said. Or, he may move ahead with any adjustment of status application he may have pending, but that has a likelihood of being denied because of the domestic violence case.
As both cases play out, one this is crystal clear for Haitian families in the U.S. The South Florida attorney speaking anonymously said in a place like Miami, where many parents arrived without papers and stayed to build lives while immigration approved their cases, they would’ve all been deported under this administration.
“There’s no due process if you’ve got an immigration case, once ICE gets you,” he said.
Or, to use a Haitian Creole saying about walking the straight and narrow path, as Celestin did: ‘Isit, kounya, se mache sou 13 pou pa pile 14.”
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