Florida Convicted Felon Gets 4 Years In Prison For Holding Rifle On Instagram

MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) – A convicted felon in Florida has been sentenced to four years and three months in federal prison after appearing in a social media post holding a rifle.

Christian Agosto, 22, of Brandon, was sentenced Wednesday in Tampa federal court, according to court records.

He had pleaded guilty in December to possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.

Agosto had been free from prison for about four months in July 2021, when he held and displayed a rifle during an Instagram Live video, prosecutors said.

Agosto had spent about two years in state prison on several gun charges, and he was on community control through the Florida Department of Corrections.

Agosto's probation officer and other law enforcement officers searched Agosto's home several days after the video was posted and recovered a loaded Ruger AR-556 rifle, officials said.

The firearm matched the rifle Agosto had displayed during the Instagram video.