JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office released the names of three people arrested during a disturbance at Tuesday night’s Jacksonville City Council meeting.
“Council leadership requested that officers remove a group of individuals who were disrupting the proceedings,” a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office news release states. “While several left when asked to do so, a few people in the group disobeyed the lawful orders to leave the chambers.”
Here’s what we know about the three who were arrested:
Conor Cauley, 29
Cauley is facing charges of with felony resisting with violence and carrying a concealed weapon. Police said he was carrying a knife.
UPDATE: After reviewing video of Cauley’s arrest Wednesday morning, the judge did not find probable cause for the resisting with violence charge, but set his bond at $1,503 for the weapons charge.
Leah Grady, 24
Grady is facing charges of misdemeanor resisting an officer without violence.
Teagan Belloit, 25
Belloit is facing charges of misdemeanor resisting an officer without violence.
City Council was forced to pause its meeting as Jacksonville officers cleared the chambers, “to ensure the safety of all in attendance,” the news release states adding, “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 and each have been booked into the Duval County Jail as a result.”
Calls for release of arrestees
A group calling itself The Jax Palestine Solidarity Network made a post on Instagram overnight calling for protestors to converge on the Duval County jail Wednesday morning calling for the release of the three arrested at the council meeting.
“All out to Duval County Jail: Organizers Brutalized and Detained by JSO!” a portion of the post states.
Another group which calls itself the Jacksonville Community Action Committee also took to social media condemning the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and how it handled the arrest.
“These officers brutalized and arrested three members of the community following public comment,” a portion of the group’s Facebook post states. “Video footage taken by spectators at City County shows clear excessive force ... We stand with our friends with the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network in demanding these trumped up charges ... be dropped and that they be released immediately from the Duval County jail.
State Rep. Angie Nixon (D), Jacksonville, released a statement of her own Wednesday morning in support of the arrestees.
“This is a time of deep disgust, as residents were met with violence in our own city chamber simply for demanding that their voices be heard,” Nixon stated in a Facebook post. “I ... call for their release and for all charges to be dropped. We must hold our leadership accountable for this outrageous abuse of power.”
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