Conor Cauley, aged 29, was arrested along with two other individuals following a “disturbance” at a council meeting on Tuesday. He now faces only a charge for carrying a concealed weapon.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — On Wednesday, a Duval County judge dismissed one of the charges against a man who allegedly brought a knife to a Jacksonville City Council session on Tuesday, during which he and two others were detained.
Conor Cauley, 29, along with Teagan Belloit, 25, and Leah Grady, 24, were taken into custody and removed from the city hall meeting. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office informed First Coast News that the council leadership had asked for their removal due to disruptions they were causing during the proceedings.
“The three individuals who were arrested refused to leave and resisted, becoming combative with officers,” JSO said in a statement.
The meeting was paused when Cauley, Belloit and Grady were being escorted out of the chambers, but resumed shortly after.
A video from inside the chamber shows a police officer touching a man on the arm, who then brushes him off. He then grabs the man by the neck and appears to pull him to the ground.
On Wednesday, Cauley and Belloit made their first court appearance.
A judge dropped a resisting arrest with violence charge for Cauley and set his bond at $1,503, as he’s still charged with carrying a concealed weapon. JSO said they found a knife on him while he was being arrested.
As of noon Wednesday, jail records show that Cauley is still in custody at the Duval County Jail.
As for Belloit, she appeared in court for a resisting an officer without violence charge. The judge set her bond at $1,503. As of noon Wednesday, jail records show Belloit remains in custody at the jail.
Grady posted bond and was released from jail Wednesday, according to JSO. She did not appear in court Wednesday morning.
Statement from Mayor Donna Deegan
Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan released a statement Wednesday
“We all have freedom of speech. The time to exercise that right is during the public comment period of City Council meetings. The words we choose matter. Civil discourse should be just that. Civil. If we truly want to solve problems, we have to find a way to speak respectfully to each other.
A small “credit card” knife went undetected in a wallet during the standard security screening process for last night’s City Council meeting. Moving forward, we have directed First Coast Security to train their officers on this style of concealed weapon, and to conduct extra inspections of all personal items going into the Council Chambers.
We are also conducting a full security review for City Hall – including potential equipment upgrades, staffing changes, and vendor options – as we get closer to the current security vendor contract expiring in September 2025.”
Protest at JSO headquarters
Members of the Jacksonville Community Action Committee gathered outside the Duval County Jail Tuesday night, waiting for Cauley, Belloit and Grady to be released.
The group will hold a protest in front of JSO’s headquarters, the Police Memorial Building, at 5 p.m. Wednesday. They will make a call advocating that all charges be dropped against Cauley, Belloit and Grady.
