A teenage Donald Trump supporter is accused of threatening two Kamala Harris supporters, including a 71-year-old, with a 2ft-long machete, police say.
The local Republican chairman suggested the incident came in the wake of “anger” caused by Joe Biden’s “garbage” comments and allegations of Trump being a fascist by the Democratic.
Caleb James Williams, 18, is charged with felony aggravated assault on a person 65 or older and misdemeanour exhibition of a dangerous weapon, Neptune Beach police records show.
Police Chief Michael Key Jr. said Williams and seven 16- and 17-year-olds drove to a suburban Jacksonville library on Tuesday afternoon specifically “to protest and antagonise the opposing political side”.
Carrying Trump flags, they began yelling at a group of Harris supporters and that escalated.
A photo taken by an alleged witness shows Williams “brandishing a machete in an aggressive, threatening posture over his head,” the police chief said.
The Harris supporters are aged 71 and 54.
“This goes way beyond expressing freedom of speech. To say your piece is your First Amendment protected right, but that goes out the window the moment you raise a machete over your head,” Mr Key said.
Williams, a restaurant busboy, was being held without bond on Wednesday morning at the Duval County Jail pending his initial appearance in court.
The minimum sentence for aggravated assault on a senior in Florida is three years in prison. The maximum is 15.
Key said the seven juveniles with Williams did not appear to have committed any crimes, but the investigation is ongoing.
‘Troubling act of intimidation’
Duval County Democratic Chairman Daniel Henry said the incident was “a troubling act of intimidation”.
“Violence and intimidation have no place in our democratic process.
“The Duval County Democratic Party stands with those who seek to express their views peacefully and without fear of reprisal.
“We urge all citizens to continue engaging in civic activities respectfully and lawfully,” Henry said in a statement.
Dean Black, Duval’s Republican chairman, thanked police for arresting Williams but said in a statement that Democrats and others are to blame for the angry political atmosphere surrounding the election.
“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,” Mr Black said.
Joe Biden, speaking on Tuesday about a comedian at a weekend Trump rally calling Puerto Rico “a floating island of garbage,” said: “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters.”
Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 19-year-old Pennsylvania man who fired at Trump during a July rally, was a registered Republican but had made a $15 donation to a Democratic group. Crooks was killed by a Secret Service sniper.
Ryan Routh, who was charged last month with staking out Trump at his Florida golf course in hopes of shooting him, was once a registered Democrat but says he voted for Trump in 2016. He is currently a registered independent. He also wrote a book calling for Iran to assassinate Trump.
