Judge says not enough probable cause to charge man with resisting with violence after incident at council meeting

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A judge said on Wednesday morning there was not enough probable cause to charge a man with resisting with violence after he was arrested during Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

Conor Cauley, 29, is still facing a felony charge of carrying a concealed weapon (a pocket knife). His bond was set at $1,503 and he was released on his own recognizance.

He was ordered to be back in court on June 18.

Cauley was one of three people arrested Tuesday night by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.

Two women are facing misdemeanor charges of resisting an officer without violence. News4JAX is not naming the women because of the nature of their charges.

JSO said officers were asked to remove a group of people who were causing a disturbance during the meeting.

A video posted on Instagram captured the interaction as officers tried to get the trio to leave the Council chambers.

Cauley is holding a cellphone and filming as one of the women is being moved by an officer.

The officer briefly grips Cauley’s arm to push him back out of the way so he can move the woman along the aisle of chairs, and Cauley uses his free hand to quickly take hold of the officer’s wrist and push the officer’s arm away.

Instantly, the officer grabs Cauley behind his neck and pulls him forward, flipping him over a row of chairs and knocking back the woman he was originally escorting out of the room.

The officer holds Cauley on the ground behind the row of chairs, surrounded by other officers, as the two women are led out of the room. Once the officer has Cauley on the ground in handcuffs, officers haul him up and march him out of the room, as well.

It’s unclear at what point Cauley was searched and the knife was found. The video does not show him displaying the weapon before the officer takes him to the ground.

“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.

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.”

It’s unclear what sparked 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.

Outgoing City Council President Randy White can then be heard saying, “We’ll be on pause for 5 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.”

News4JAX reached out to the mayor’s office asking if any changes will be made to security in response to the incident, since one individual was able to get inside with a knife.

The mayor’s office sent the following statement from Mayor Donna Deegan:

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.

Mayor Donna Deegan