3 arrested at Jacksonville City Council meeting, 1 had knife, Jacksonville police say

Yahoo

28-05-2025

New video shared with Action News Jax shows several people being walked out of Tuesday night's Jacksonville City Council meeting in handcuffs.
Newly elected City Council President Kevin Carrico told us that three people were arrested for assault on a law enforcement officer.
It happened just as public comment was ending. Just before 10 p.m., the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office released a statement that said two people were being charged with misdemeanors and one person was discovered with a knife in his possession and being charged with a felony.
Action News Jax's Alexus Cleavenger was at the meeting and watched Jacksonville Sheriff's Officers put those arrested into a patrol car.
Video shows the moment the commotion happened at the back of Council chambers. Someone could be heard saying 'back up now.'
Then it appears an officer tries to grab a man to move him back. It looks like that man then went on to remove the officer's hand from holding him.
And that's when it appears an officer pulled that man by the neck over a row of chairs.
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The commotion rattled City Council members, who cleared the room until the situation was under control.
Monica Gold with the Jacksonville Community Action Committee was there when all this happened.
She believes this started when a community member showed some sort of support during the public comment portion of the meeting, which is against the rules of public comment.
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'I feel horrified, I feel sick to my stomach that police feel so comfortable using that level of force on anybody and people that were literally just sitting, and another person just standing,' Gold said.
Council member Rory Diamond posted the following on X after the arrests:
'Battery on a Law Enforcement Officer is a felony in Florida if Jax Council protestors were wondering. Fully expect all charges to be pressed. #BackTheBLUE"
Carrico released the following statement:
'I'd like to thank JSO for once again keeping us safe during an unfortunate event that took place in council chambers. It was unclear what happened but I'm hearing officers were assaulted after people were asked to leave for violating council rules of decorum. On a side note it was an honor to be Voted President, I'm looking forward to leading this body and this city during my tenure as the 57th President of the Jacksonville City Council.'
JSO released the following statement:
'Tonight, Jacksonville Sheriff's Office (JSO) officers arrested three individuals following a disturbance at the Jacksonville City Council meeting. Council leadership requested that JSO officers remove a group of individuals who were disrupting the proceedings. At that time, a few people disobeyed the lawful orders to leave the chambers. The three individuals who were arrested refused to leave and resisted, becoming combative with officers. Officers discovered a knife on one of the individuals who was arrested. He is charged with a felony while the other two are facing misdemeanor charges.
'City leaders stopped the meeting as officers cleared the chamber to ensure public safety. JSO respects the right to freedom of speech and the right to protest; however, the actions of the three individuals in custody constituted a clear violation of the law. They are currently being booked into the Duval County Jail.'
The City Council meeting was still going on as of just before 10 p.m., but we are working to speak with Council members about what they saw for FOX30 and CBS47 Action News Jax at 11.
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