Inside the Allegations Against Byron Donalds: A Grocery Store Confrontation Returns to Haunt Florida’s GOP Frontrunner

NAPLES, Fla. — Nearly four years after a heated confrontation inside a Southwest Florida grocery store, an encounter involving U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds has returned to public view—this time in a courtroom and in the middle of his campaign to become Florida’s next governor.

Kelly Mason, now a member of the Collier County School Board, filed a civil lawsuit July 7 accusing Donalds of assault stemming from an Aug. 23, 2022, confrontation inside Seed to Table, a popular Naples-area grocery store.

The confrontation was not entirely private. Portions were captured on video.

According to the lawsuit, Mason was shopping with her husband and two young children when Donalds approached her over an ongoing legal dispute involving his wife, Erika Donalds. Mason and Erika Donalds had previously been business partners, and their relationship had deteriorated into litigation.

Mason alleges that Donalds became aggressive, berated and insulted her and threatened that he could “crush” or “finish” her. She further alleges that Donalds positioned himself close enough to make her fear that the confrontation could become physical.

The complaint also names Donalds’ longtime adviser Larry Wilcoxson as playing a role in the confrontation, alleging that Wilcoxson followed Mason through the store while yelling and creating a disturbance.

Video of the encounter provides evidence that a heated argument occurred, but it does not appear to capture the most serious alleged threats described in Mason’s lawsuit. Footage reviewed by Gulf Coast News shows Donalds loudly confronting Mason and telling her to stop the lawsuits. Other reporting on the video similarly shows the two arguing over the litigation.

That distinction is significant.

The video confirms a confrontation took place, but Mason’s claims that Donalds threatened to “crush” or “finish” her remain allegations contained in a civil complaint. They have not been proven in court, and Donalds has not been criminally charged over the incident.

Donalds’ campaign has categorically rejected Mason’s allegations.

Campaign communications director Gates McGavick described the lawsuit as a “baseless, politically motivated attack” intended to damage Donalds during the 2026 election. The campaign has also pointed to Mason’s history of litigation involving the Donalds family.

The political circumstances surrounding the lawsuit have added to questions about its timing. Mason’s attorney, former Florida state Rep. Anthony Sabatini, also represents James Fishback, one of Donalds’ Republican gubernatorial rivals, in separate litigation concerning Fishback’s eligibility for the ballot.

Mason maintains that the case is about Donalds’ conduct, not politics.

The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages and requests a jury trial. Court records show the case remains active.

For Donalds, the allegations arrive at a consequential moment. The Trump-endorsed congressman remains the Republican frontrunner for governor, but the lawsuit has given his opponents something they previously lacked: video of Donalds engaged in an angry public confrontation.

What that video does not establish is whether the confrontation amounted to civil assault or whether Donalds made the specific threats Mason describes.

Those questions will now be fought over not merely on the campaign trail, but potentially before a Florida jury.