A Florida teenager has been arrested after he “brandished a machete in an aggressive, threatening posture over his head” at two women Tuesday outside an early voting location near Jacksonville, police said.
Caleb James Williams, 18, joined by seven juveniles, approached sign wavers and antagonized the “opposing political side,” Neptune Beach Police Chief Michael Key Jr. said.
Key did not provide the political affiliations of the victims or suspect. The Duval County Democratic Party identified the sign wavers as supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris.
Williams is charged with aggravated assault on a person 65 or older and improper exhibition of a dangerous weapon, according to records from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. He was being held at a pretrial detention facility and is scheduled for a hearing Wednesday, according to the sheriff’s office. CNN is working to identify Williams’ attorney.
Williams was among a group of teens who showed up outside the Beaches Branch Library in Neptune Beach where early voting was taking place Tuesday afternoon and antagonized the sign wavers, Key said.
At one point, Williams began waving a machete in a “threatening manner” over his head at two women, ages 54 and 71, according to Key. The women called police, Key said.
“The group was there for no other reason but ill intentions and to cause a disturbance,” Key said. “Ensuring everyone’s right to vote is crucial and it will not be impeded upon in Neptune Beach or Duval County.”
The group was supporting former President Donald Trump, according to Duval County Democratic Party Chair Daniel Henry.
“We are deeply concerned about a violent incident [Tuesday] at the Beaches Library, where a group of young men carrying Trump flags, with one individual armed with a machete, confronted peaceful Harris-Walz sign-wavers exercising their First Amendment rights,” the Duval County Democratic Party said in a social media post Tuesday.
“This troubling act of intimidation was met with a swift response from the Neptune Beach Police Department, who arrived within minutes to assess and de-escalate the situation,” the post added.
The Republican Party of Duval County thanked police in a statement Wednesday morning for arresting the “individual” involved.
“In an environment of high political tension, where President Trump has survived two assassination attempts and Republican supporters are derided as Nazis and called ‘garbage’ by Joe Biden, we urge calm as we approach the end of this election season,” the statement continued.
The FBI and Department of Homeland Security recently issued a bulletin raising concerns that “election-related grievances,” such as a belief in voter fraud, could motivate domestic extremists to engage in violence in the weeks before and after the November election.
