Police arrested an 18-year-old wielding a machete with an 18-inch blade outside a polling station in Florida on Tuesday, saying he was part of a group of teenagers accused of intimidating Democratic supporters.
The teenager, Caleb James Williams, was arrested after 4 p.m. when officers were called to the Beaches Branch Library in Neptune Beach.
Williams was arrested on charges of aggravated assault, accused of brandishing his weapon at two unidentified women, ages 71 and 54, and improper exhibition of a weapon, Neptune Beach police said.
The local Democratic campaign said it was “deeply concerned” about the Tuesday’s events, in which, it said, a group of young men waving signs supporting former President Donald Trump confronted a group holding signs promoting Vice President Kamala Harris.
Police Chief Michael J. Key Jr. said at a news conference Tuesday night that officers found seven juveniles and an adult in the library’s parking lot.
“The investigation revealed that the group arrived to protest and antagonize the opposing political side,” he said.
The group approached opposing sign wavers, and an argument developed between the two sides before Williams “brandished a machete in an aggressive, threatening posture over his head,” Key said, adding that the police department has released an image of the moment.
“The group was there for no other reason but for ill intentions, to cause a disturbance, ” he said.
Key added that the incident was a clear case of actions going beyond what is allowed by free speech laws.
“This goes way beyond expressing freedom of speech — to say your piece is First Amendment-protected right, but that goes out the window the moment you raise a machete over your head in a threatening manner,” he said.
Key said there were no plans to arrest or charge any of the other members of the group, as their actions didn’t “cross the criminal threshold,” but he stressed that an investigation is ongoing.
