WHEN PUSH COMES TO SHOVE

Kerri Ann McGrath's Self-Defense Story

Discover how USCCA Membership provided critical support to Kerri Ann, helping her navigate legal challenges and reclaim her life.

Location: South Florida
Charges: District Attorney Considered Felony Charges
Not Guilty: Charges Dropped
$5,000: Legal fees covered

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Kerri Ann McGrath went from victim to suspect in the space of twenty minutes.

She was visiting friends near the coast of South Florida, in a camper she'd stayed in many times before. The visit wasn't going well … her friend and the friend's boyfriend were fighting. Kerri Ann went inside, trying to smooth things over.

The man turned on her instead, blocking the door.

"Get away from me!" he growled, then shoved her backward…

She fell, sprawling between the sink and a table. The moment brought back a memory she carries permanently ... an assault years earlier, at knifepoint, by three men.

"I could see the rage in his eyes. It was pretty scary. I wasn't expecting that," she said. She knew the man kept a gun somewhere in the trailer. She didn't know where.

Blocked in with nowhere to go, Kerri Ann drew her SIG Sauer P238 .380.

His hands went up instantly. He backed away. She was out the door, dialing 911 before she'd fully caught her breath.

Marine Patrol officers, first on scene, told her she'd done everything right.

But by the time a sheriff's deputy arrived twenty minutes later, Kerri Ann had calmed down, and calm didn't read as "victim." The man claimed she'd shoved a gun in his face and overpowered him. Her friend, present for the interview, told the deputy the scratch on his face wasn't new. The deputy put his account in the report anyway.

"It really threw me how fast I went from a victim to a bad guy when all I was doing was trying to defend myself."

Weeks later, the deputy called again, this time to say she might pursue charges…

Kerri Ann called the Critical Response Team she had access to through her USCCA Membership, which connected her immediately with attorney Alan Diamond of Funk, Szachacz & Diamond in Melbourne. Diamond called the sheriff's department directly.

"If anything happens to Miss McGrath, I will not only sue the entire police department, but I will sue you personally," he told them.

Kerri Ann was never charged.

"Most of the time, the police are there to help, but there are times when the police just don't get it right and people who didn't do anything wrong get arrested," Diamond said. "Kerri Ann's situation was just that."

Today, McGrath trains regularly, the same instinct that took over the moment she needed it.

"Carrying gives me a sense of empowerment," she said. "I'm a survivor, and I know that if I had carried when those three guys assaulted me, I could have stood up for myself."

Because preparedness isn't just about what happens in the moment. It's about recognizing danger before it happens and making critical decisions when it does.

Kerri Ann's story is a reminder that self-defense isn't a single event…

It's what happens before, during, and after.

Surviving an attack is only half the battle.

The legal fight that follows can be just as devastating to your freedom, family, and finances.

Attorney retainer:

$25k–$100k+

Expert witnesses:

$5k–$15k

(each)

Trial & bail costs:

$100k–$500k+

JOIN 860,400+ MEMBERS

When you take advantage of the education, training, and self-defense liability insurance¹ you get with your USCCA^® Membership, you'll be ready for the before, during, AND after of a deadly encounter.

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