The 2024 presidential election is now just less than a week away and tensions are as high as ever, with Duval County Supervisor of Elections Jerry Holland saying his office has already been flooded with calls, emails, and even death threats.
“We’re getting threats, we’re getting hate emails and phone calls, they covered up our call center yesterday to where we could not get calls from the general public,” Holland told Action News Jax on Wednesday.
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Those tensions are also now highlighted by the arrest of 18-year-old Caleb Williams, accused of threatening voters with a machete at a Neptune Beach polling location, according to police. Williams now faces felony charges.
READ: 18-year-old arrested after ‘antagonizing’ voters with machete at Neptune Beach polling location
In a statement released by the Duval County Democratic Party, they thanked Neptune Beach Police Department for their quick response, saying in part: “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.”
Meanwhile, the Duval GOP in a statement sent to Action News Jax also thanked law enforcement’s swift response and said: “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 as we approach the end of this election season.”
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Now, Holand is also calling for the continued respect of others’ First Amendment right to vote.
“You may think ‘Oh I’m just protesting, I’m slowing them from getting in, I’m just harassing them,’ but all that may actually deter someone from voting and that’s taking away their right,” Holland said. “And that is very serious.”
Holland also highlighted while cases like this are extremely serious, they’re also equally rare, reassuring voters of their safety during early voting and on Election Day.
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