'Dangerous message': Fury as Trump fan accused of wielding machete has charges dropped

Last October in a suburb of Jacksonville, police arrested an 18-year-old Donald Trump supporter they accused of brandishing a machete outside an early voting location, targeting two women.

He was charged with voter intimidation, aggravated assault on persons 65 or older, and improper exhibition of a firearm.

Caleb Williams,18, was booked at the Duval County Jail on Oct. 29, 2024. (Photo courtesy Neptune Beach Police Department)

Last week the state attorney for the 4th Judicial Circuit in Jacksonville announced she would not prosecute the teenager, identified as Caleb Williams, and would drop all charges against him.

That decision has angered a coalition of 16 voting and civil rights groups in the Jacksonville area and around the state, and on Monday they wrote a letter to Jacksonville State Attorney Melissa Nelson and Assistant State Attorney Octavius Holliday Jr., saying their decision to drop all charges against Williams “sends a dangerous message” that voter intimidation “is tolerated rather than prosecuted.”

They also want their office to reconsider the decision to drop the case.

“The facts of this case as publicly reported appear very compelling: a man wielding a deadly weapon approached a polling location and engaged in threatening behavior towards supporters of one of the presidential candidates on the ballot,” reads a portion of the letter.

“The victims, two women ages 71 and 54, were subjected to an act of intimidation that no one at a polling location should ever have to endure. Your office’s dismissal of this case undermines public confidence in the justice system and fails in its duty to protect Florida voters.”

Among those groups signing the letter were the Jacksonville branch of the NAACP, the Southern Poverty Law Center, Black Lives Matter, and the League of Women Voters of Florida.

The letter goes on to cite several state statutes regarding voter intimidation that the groups believe clearly shows that Williams had broken the law when he brandished the machete.

Nevertheless, Holliday wrote in a disposition that the state would not prosecute Williams, adding that the police and the victims “concur” with the decision.

‘To protest and antagonize’

Neptune Beach Police Chief Michael Key Jr. said last October that Williams and seven other teenagers — all supporters of Donald Trump — drove to the polling place specifically “to protest and antagonize the opposing political side, according to the Associated Press.

“Every eligible voter in Florida has the right to cast their ballot free from threats, coercion, or fear of violence,” reads another portion of the letter signed by the voting and civil rights groups.

“Your decision not to pursue justice in this case directly contradicts that principle. Failing to prosecute voter intimidation weakens our democracy and puts all Floridians in danger. We strongly urge you to reconsider this decision, uphold the law, and take the necessary steps to ensure that voter intimidation is prosecuted to the fullest extent in this case.”

A request for comment to the state attorney’s office was not immediately returned.