Published on October 30, 2024 at 2:12 pm
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Brandi Dermody voted Wednesday morning at the Beaches Branch Library — the site where a teenager was accused a day earlier of waving a machete at women holding Harris-Walz signs.
Caleb James Williams, 18, is charged with aggravated assault and improper display of weapons. He remains jailed on $55,000 bail after his first court appearance Wednesday morning.
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A judge told Williams he is not allowed to come within 1,000 feet of a polling place unless he is voting himself.
Dermody was asked if she feels uneasy about voting after Tuesday’s incident.
“Not at all, no,” the Jacksonville Beach woman said. “I feel like it’s just some kids acting out that got caught. So no, I don’t feel it’s unsafe at all.”
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Williams is a registered Republican and just turned 18 on Saturday, Duval County Supervisor of Elections records show.
Police were called to the branch in Neptune Beach at 4 p.m. after reports that someone had “brandished a machete” to intimidate voters, Police Chief Michael Key Jr. said.
Officers found eight people, seven of them juveniles, who were there to “protest and to antagonize the opposing political side,” Key said.
The group had parked in the library lot, then approached the sign wavers, and an argument followed. Williams “brandished a machete in an aggressive, threatening posture” at two women, ages 54 and 71, Key said.
“They were in fear at that point and called police,” Key said. “The group was there for no other reason but for ill intentions, to cause a disturbance.
“This is not an incident of solely a First Amendment protected right, but rather one where they were simply there to cause a ruckus,” he said. “Voting in our country is one of the most sacred and protected rights we have.”
Key said police found a machete with an 18-inch blade in the bed of a pickup that Williams was standing next to, according to News4Jax, a Jacksonville Today news partner. One of the women took an image of the 18-year-old holding the machete over his head.
The others in the group, ages 16 and 17, did nothing to warrant arrest, but the investigation continues, Key said. The early voting site was not evacuated, he said.
The Democratic and Republican parties of Duval County both issued statements after the incident.
Democratic Party chair Daniel Henry said the party was deeply concerned about the incident. He described it as a group of young people carrying Trump flags who “confronted peaceful Harris-Walz sign wavers.”
“Violence and intimidation have no place in our democratic process,” Henry said. “The Duval County Democratic Party stands with those who seek to express their views peacefully and without fear of reprisal.”
The Republican Party referred to an environment of “high political tension,” including two assasination attempts on Donald Trump and what the party called derisive statements by President Joe Biden.
“We urge calm as we approach the end of this election season,” the statement said.
Williams’ arraignment is set for Nov. 20, according to jail records.
Jacksonville Today reporter Michelle Corum contributed to this article
