NEPTUNE BEACH, Fla. — A man arrested in October 2024 after Neptune Beach police said he was waving a machete at a polling location intimidating voters is no longer facing charges.
Caleb Williams, 18, was charged with voter intimidation, aggravated assault on persons 65 years or older, and improper exhibition of firearm or dangerous weapon for the Oct. 29, 2024 incident.
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Assistant State Attorney Octavius A. Holliday Jr. said he’s declining to prosecute Williams on all charges.
“After reviewing the evidence in the above-styled case, the undersigned Assistant State Attorney declines to prosecute this defendant for these charges and any civil charges ... ” Holliday stated in court documents. “The proper authorities have been notified by copy of this notice to release the defendant from custody and/or to release defendant’s bond ...”
Williams posted a $55,000 bond after he was booked into Duval County jail.
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On the day of the incident, Neptune Beach police were called to Beaches Branch Library, an early voting location, after receiving calls about a man holding a machete. Officers arrived and witnesses pointed out Williams who was standing with a group of males near a truck in the parking lot.
The group reportedly arrived to protest, displaying Trump flags and one of them holding a Trump sign with a machete, police said. Action News Jax received video of the group showing them holding Trump flags chanting the former president’s name and Williams holding a Trump flag attached to a machete.
A 71-year-old woman told police Williams approached her with the machete raised above his head in an intimidating manner. A 54-year-old woman standing next to her told police she also feared for her safety and snapped a photo of Williams using her phone.
Neptune Beach police Chief Michael Key said after the incident that he believed the men were there to intimidate voters.
“I‘m extremely angry at this,” Key said during a news conference in October. “It’s is one thing to exercise your First Amendment right which we so dearly take as a sacred right, but the moment you move to violence, that goes out the window. To say I’m disturb is an understatement. I’m mad,” he said.
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