TAMARAC, Fla. -- A 95-year-old man was arrested for arming himself with a rifle after agriculture crews came to chop down his last citrus tree as part of an effort to protect groves from citrus canker.

The man said he had nurtured the trees for decades at his home in Tamarac, just outside Fort Lauderdale.Nelson Edwards was charged Monday with aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer with a firearm. He was released on $5,000 bail. If convicted, Edwards faces at least three years in prison.

Inspectors with the Florida Department of Agriculture already had chopped down three citrus trees in Edwards' back yard. When an inspector showed up Monday to cut down his remaining 12-foot grapefruit tree, he grabbed an unloaded rifle and was promptly arrested. Inspectors ordered the tree chopped down after his arrest.

Neighbor Al Somma said Edwards only wanted to scare away the inspector.

The rifle "wasn't loaded and he can barely see," Somma said.

Agriculture officials have been removing citrus trees from residents' yards in Miami-Dade and Broward counties in an effort to eradicate citrus canker, which is threatening the citrus industry in South Florida.

The disease causes fruit to fall prematurely and ultimately can kill the tree.

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