Teen Trump supporter charged with threatening Harris backers at polling place with machete

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Teen Trump supporter charged with threatening Harris backers at polling place with machete

2024-10-31 05:28 Last Updated At：05:30

An 18-year-old Donald Trump supporter is facing a felony charge after police say he threatened two Kamala Harris supporters with a two-foot (60-centimeter) machete as they campaigned outside a Florida early voting site.

Caleb James Williams is charged with felony aggravated assault on a person 65 or older and misdemeanor 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 Tuesday afternoon specifically “to protest and antagonize the opposing political side.” Carrying Trump flags, they began yelling at a group of Harris supporters and that escalated.

Key displayed a photo taken by a witness of a smiling Williams “brandishing a machete in an aggressive, threatening posture over his head.” The Harris supporters he allegedly threatened are women 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,” Key said. Neptune Beach is an upscale suburb of 7,000 residents with a median income of $110,000, according to census records.

Williams, a restaurant busboy, was being held Wednesday afternoon at the Duval County Jail on $55,000 bail after making his first court appearance. If the registered Republican is released, the judge ordered him to stay 1,000 feet (300 meters) from any polling place except to cast his own ballot and to wear an ankle monitor.

Duval Public Defender Charlie Cofer, whose office has been assigned Williams' case, declined to comment. Williams' father did not return messages left on his cellphone. 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.

Duval County Democratic Chair Daniel Henry said Williams committed “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 chair, 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,” Black said.

President Biden, speaking 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."

The 19-year-old Pennsylvania man who fired at Trump during a July rally, Thomas Matthew Crooks, 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.

Thousands of nurses go on strike at several major New York City hospitals

NEW YORK (AP) — Thousands of nurses in three hospital systems in New York City went on strike Monday after negotiations through the weekend failed to yield breakthroughs in their contract disputes.

The strike was taking place at The Mount Sinai Hospital and two of its satellite campuses, with picket lines forming. The other affected hospitals are NewYork-Presbyterian and Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.

About 15,000 nurses are involved in the strike, according to New York State Nurses Association.

“After months of bargaining, management refused to make meaningful progress on core issues that nurses have been fighting for: safe staffing for patients, healthcare benefits for nurses, and workplace violence protections,” the union said in a statement issued Monday. “Management at the richest hospitals in New York City are threatening to discontinue or radically cut nurses’ health benefits.”

The strike, which comes during a severe flu season, could potentially force the hospitals to transfer patients, cancel procedures or divert ambulances. It could also put a strain on city hospitals not involved in the contract dispute, as patients avoid the medical centers hit by the strike.

The hospitals involved have been hiring temporary nurses to try and fill the labor gap during the walkout, and said in a statement during negotiations that they would “do whatever is necessary to minimize disruptions.” Montefiore posted a message assuring patients that appointments would be kept.

“NYSNA’s leaders continue to double down on their $3.6 billion in reckless demands, including nearly 40% wage increases, and their troubling proposals like demanding that a nurse not be terminated if found to be compromised by drugs or alcohol while on the job," Montefiore spokesperson Joe Solmonese said Monday after the strike had started. "We remain resolute in our commitment to providing safe and seamless care, regardless of how long the strike may last.”

New York-Presbyterian accused the union of staging a strike to “create disruption,” but said in a statement that it has taken steps to ensure patients receive the care they need.

"We’re ready to keep negotiating a fair and reasonable contract that reflects our respect for our nurses and the critical role they play, and also recognizes the challenging realities of today’s healthcare environment,” the statement said.

The work stoppage is occurring at multiple hospitals simultaneously, but each medical center is negotiating with the union independently. Several other hospitals across the city and in its suburbs reached deals in recent days to avert a possible strike.

The nurses’ demands vary by hospital, but the major issues include staffing levels and workplace safety. The union says hospitals have given nurses unmanageable workloads.

Nurses also want better security measures in the workplace, citing incidents like a an incident last week, when a man with a sharp object barricaded himself in a Brooklyn hospital room and was then killed by police.

The union also wants limitations on hospitals’ use of artificial intelligence.

The nonprofit hospitals involved in the negotiations say they’ve been working to improve staffing levels, but say the union’s demands overall are too costly.

Nurses voted to authorize the strike last month.

Both New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani had expressed concern about the possibility of the strike. As the strike deadline neared, Mamdani urged both sides to keep negotiating and reach a deal that “both honors our nurses and keeps our hospitals open.”

“Our nurses kept this city alive through its hardest moments. Their value is not negotiable,” Mamdani said.

State Attorney General Letitia James voiced similar support, saying "nurses put their lives on the line every day to keep New Yorkers healthy. They should never be forced to choose between their own safety, their patients’ well-being, and a fair contract.”

The last major nursing strike in the city was only three years ago, in 2023. That work stoppage, at Mount Sinai and Montefiore, was short, lasting three days. It resulted in a deal raising pay 19% over three years at those hospitals.

It also led to promised staffing improvements, though the union and hospitals now disagree about how much progress has been made, or whether the hospitals are retreating from staffing guarantees.