3 arrested after altercation with officers following disturbance at Jacksonville City Council meeting

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Three people have been arrested after an altercation with officers following a disturbance at a Jacksonville City Council meeting on Tuesday night.

According to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, officers were asked to remove a group of people who were “disrupting the proceedings.”

Three people in the group were resistant and did not follow orders to leave, becoming combative with officers, JSO said.

One of the three people who were arrested was charged with a felony for resisting with violence and carrying a concealed weapon. JSO said they were found with a knife. The other two are facing misdemeanor charges for resisting an officer without violence.

“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,” the sheriff’s office said.

The city council meeting went into a brief recess after the disturbance, but proceedings continued.

The Jacksonville Community Action Committee said members of the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network (JPSN) were the ones arrested.

Video posted by JPSN on social media shows what appeared to be the incident involving officers before members were escorted out of the meeting in handcuffs.

In a statement, the advocacy group condemned the officer’s actions.

“The Jacksonville Community Action Committee condemns the actions of police officers of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office at tonight’s City Hall meeting. These officers brutalized and arrested three members of the community following public comment. Video footage taken by spectators at City Council shows clear excessive force in their interaction with community members. We stand with our friends with the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network in demanding these trumped charges against [group members] be dropped and that they be released immediately from the Duval County Jail.”

Newly elected city council president Kevin Carrico issued the following statement that said, in part, “I’d like to thank JSO for once again keeping us safe during an unfortunate event that took place in council chambers.” Carrico said.

It’s unclear what caused the disruption. In the video below, council member Chris Miller can be seen reading through a list of names before someone can be heard yelling, “Back up now!”

Seconds later, another person can be heard yelling, “Hey!” as further commotion broke out.

City Council President Randy White can then be heard saying, “We’ll be on pause for five minutes,” before calling for the chambers to be cleared.

Videos posted to social media show what appear to be two people being arrested at the meeting.

Councilman Rory Diamond also posted to social media following the incident, saying he expected “all charges to be pressed.”