Overview
- Florida Highway Patrol stopped a Ford pickup near Plant City after 911 callers on Interstate 4 reported two missiles on Sunday.
- Hillsborough deputies and Plant City police and fire set a perimeter until the bomb squad arrived and confirmed the items were plastic props with no threat.
- The driver, Michael Nipper, told troopers he bought the rockets as a kit for shows, received advice on safer transport, and left without a citation.
- Photos released by FHP showed one rocket labeled AIM-120B on a bed rack, and troopers nicknamed the driver #RocketMan in posts that drew mixed reactions.
- The response follows standard protocol to call bomb technicians for suspected ordnance on busy roads and highlights how realistic replicas can trigger large multi-agency operations.