DennisWardlow was a former Mayor of Key West, Florida.
He is best known, however, as the "Prime Minister" of the Conch Republic, the micronation that "seceded" from the United States on April 23, 1982, in protest over a United States Border Patrol blockade which severely damaged the tourism economy of the Florida Keys.
Wardlow fined by Governor Bush for ethics violations
The Conch Republic is a micronation declared as a tongue-in-cheek protest secession of the Florida Keys from the United States on April 23, 1982.
When the City Council's complaints went unanswered by the Federal Government and attempts to get an injunction against the roadblock failed in court, as a form of protest Mayor DennisWardlow and the Council declared the Keys "independence" on April 23, 1982.
In the eyes of the Council, since the federal government had set up the equivalent of a border station as if the Keys were a foreign nation, the Keys might as well become one.