The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said one of the people arrested had a knife in his possession.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Security protocols at Jacksonville City Hall are being re-evaluated after authorities reported that a protester successfully carried a knife disguised as a credit card into the council chambers during the City Council meeting on Tuesday night.
On Wednesday morning, two of the three individuals apprehended by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office made a court appearance following the disturbances at Tuesday night’s City Council session in Jacksonville.
Tuesday night, JSO arrested Connor Cauley, Teagan Belloit and Leah Grady at the meeting, saying they caused a disturbance.
The meeting paused as all three were escorted out of the building
Cauley is alleged to have smuggled a knife resembling a credit card into the chamber. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office stated that security did not detect the weapon, and it was only found after Cauley’s arrest.
Among those speaking out is community activist Ryan Delaney, who witnessed the arrests.
“Community members, completely unprovoked—they brutalized him, grabbed him by the neck, threw him across an aisle, tackled him to the ground,” said Delaney. “It is completely uncalled for.”
Delaney says the protesters were simply trying to speak out and called for the immediate dropping of all charges.
“We have to support each other. We’re going to continue fighting—not just until they’re released, but until these ridiculous charges are dropped,” Delaney said.
In response, Mayor Donna Deegan issued a statement on Wednesday saying the city is conducting a full review of City Hall security protocols and retraining security guards to identify unconventional weapons like the one used.
“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,” Deegan said.
She added that the city may consider new security equipment, staffing changes, and even vendor changes, with the current contract expiring in September 2025.
JSO said the arrests were made at the request of city council leadership after the individuals were deemed to be “disrupting the proceedings.”
But Delaney pushes back on that characterization.
“The fact of the matter is that a strike against one of us is a strike against all of us,” Delaney said.
City officials say the security review is ongoing, and protesters are still calling for all charges to be dropped.
