Jacksonville, FL – Four of the five activists beaten and arrested by police at an April anti-war protest spoke out at a press conference, June 5, held outside the Duval County Courthouse. Dubbed the 'Jax5' by supporters, the activists discussed the favorable outcome of their cases and announced a campaign for community control of the police in Jacksonville. It marked the first public statement by the Jax5 since their arrest nearly two months earlier.

The Jax5 all faced felony charges carrying prison sentences if found guilty. But on June 1, State Attorney Melissa Nelson announced her office was dropping the charges on two of the Jax5 – Dave Schneider and Connell Crooms. The next day, June 2, the remaining three activists – Christina Kittle, William Wilder and Toma Beckham – accepted plea deals resulting in no convictions and 25 hours of community service each.

The outcome was a stunning rebuke to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) and the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP). JSO officers and officials tried to privately exert pressure on Nelson to move forward on the charges. Similarly, the FOP publicly attacked supporters of the Jax5, including Leslie Scott Jean-Bart, a well-known Black attorney who criticized JSO’s handling of the April 7 protest.

The Jax5 speak out

With a group of 25 supporters standing behind them, four of the Jax5 spoke about their case, highlighted the central role of mass activism in their victory, and vocally supported the demand for community control of the police.

“Community activism kept us free,” said Christina Kittle in an interview with Fight Back! after the event. Kittle is no stranger to activism, of course, and has organized countless events supporting the victims of police crimes and sexual assault. During the press conference, she added, “We wouldn’t have even had our charges dropped down to misdemeanors if it wasn’t for Jacksonville community organizing. Everybody felt that something was wrong, everybody came together and told the city this is unacceptable.”

Connell Crooms, a deaf Black union worker active in the Teamsters and a lifelong advocate for the disabled community, echoed this sentiment. “The most important lesson here is that this win wasn't fought for by the politicos in either the Democratic or Republican parties, despite constitutional rights being under attack. This was a win organized by the people whom it impacts the most. Direct action by the masses still works!”

Willie Wilder, a 74-year-old veteran and leader of the local Veterans for Peace chapter, said at the press conference, “I want to thank our community. Our community rose up just like that. And it’s carried us to this day where we can all stand here with felonious charges all dropped and all of us ready to return to our activism and take care of business.” Speaking about the April 7 police crackdown, Wilder added, “It was an act of intimidation in order to cause people to not step out and speak the truth. Well, I guess I have this to say: They messed up because now we’re even more inclined to do so.”

At the press conference, Dave Schneider said in a prepared statement, “Let me be very clear: The reason we beat this act of political repression was because of the mass movement springing to life in Jacksonville.” The 27-year-old Teamster union steward and community organizer continued, “Our arrests were acts of political repression, pure and simple. The JSO has had activists – including at least three of the Jax5, including me – under surveillance for over a year before April 7. That’s not us being paranoid, either. That’s straight out of the Florida Times Union.”

Schneider was referencing a series of stories written by Ben Conarck of the Florida Times Union, Jacksonville’s largest newspaper, which exposed JSO surveillance programs on local activists. In a front-page article from March 24, 2017, entitled “Monitoring Dissent: How the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office spied on protesters,” Schneider, Crooms and Kittle were all pictured in screenshots of the video footage taken by undercover JSO officers at events. In an interview with News4Jax less than two weeks before his arrest, Schneider condemned the JSO’s surveillance of himself and other activists and called it a sign that “the powers that be look at that [the growth of activism in Jacksonville] as very dangerous to them.”

April 7 police crackdown in Jacksonville

On April 7, labor and community activists in Jacksonville Florida held an emergency protest against U.S. President Donald Trump’s military attack on Syria and his threats of war on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. At the protest, a group of white supremacists led by William ‘Gary’ Snow disrupted the event and attacked several protesters. Snow attacked Connell Crooms, a deaf Black Teamster and well-known community activist.

Rather than arresting the provocateur, five Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) officers tackled Crooms to the ground, punching him repeatedly and knocking his hearing aid out. Video footage appears to show one JSO officer, B.D. McEwan, tasing Crooms, who was later hospitalized.

JSO officers savagely beat and arrested three other protesters, who attempted to intervene in fear for Crooms’ life. JSO officer B.J. Langston slammed Christina Kittle onto her back against a wooden platform and dislocated her shoulder. Video shows another JSO officer repeatedly punching 74-year-old veteran Willie Wilder in the face before arresting him. Police also beat Toma Beckham and threw them to the ground.

After the brutal police attack, JSO also arrested Dave Schneider for organizing the anti-war protest. They charged him with a third-degree felony for “inciting a riot,” which carries a penalty of up to ten years in prison.

The people fight back

Jacksonville activists immediately sprang into action. Less than 24 hours after JSO’s brutal crackdown, more than 200 people rallied outside the Duval County Courthouse demanding the release of the Jax5. Prosecutors and Circuit Judge Lester Bass set unusually high bails for all of the Jax5, totaling $157,000. Nevertheless, hundreds of people across the country donated to the Jax5 legal fund, and all five arrested activists were bonded out of jail and back home on April 8.

Video of the incident spread like wildfire on social media and even drew international attention. Over 60,000 people across the U.S. signed a petition circulated by Color of Change, an online racial justice network, calling on State Attorney Melissa Nelson to drop the charges on the Jax5 and investigate the JSO. Hundreds of people around the country called into Nelson’s office on several designated call-in days, and activists in other parts of Florida, like Gainesville, held demonstrations for the Jax5.

In Jacksonville, the fight to get the charges on the Jax5 dropped united people and raised bigger questions about police crimes. Groups like the Jacksonville Progressive Coalition (JPC) and the Northside Coalition held rallies and demonstrations supporting the Jax5 and demanding community control of the police. Student activists at the University of North Florida (UNF) held a forum on ‘Civil Rights in the Era of the Jax5’ and filled the room to capacity during finals week.

On May 1 – International Workers Day – over 200 people rallied outside the Duval County Courthouse calling on Nelson to drop the charges and indict the officers involved in the April 7 brawl, as well as the police killing of Selwyn Hall, an African American man shot by JSO in late April. Hall’s family, along with the families of other victims of police crimes, joined in the May Day protest. The police repression inflicted on the Jax5 brought the city’s activists and organizers together with ordinary working people victimized by JSO and the injustice system.

The Jax5 and the fight for community control of the police

“The police hoped that their brutality on April 7 would crush the people’s movements in Jacksonville,” observed Michael Sampson, one of the leaders of the Justice for the Jax5 campaign and a lead organizer with the newly formed Jacksonville Community Action Committee. “Instead, they united people of all nationalities who are fed up with police crimes and killings into a mass movement. Like never before, people in this city want community control of the JSO and are taking an active role in the fight to make it happen.”

At the press conference, the Jax5 announced their support for a Jacksonville Police Accountability Council (JPAC), modeled after a similar proposal by community activists in Chicago, Illinois. JPAC would consist of a democratically elected body of civilians – no current or former police – with the legal power to hear and investigate allegations of police misconduct, subpoena evidence and witness testimony, rewrite the JSO’s procedures and code of conduct, review and amend hiring practices, and suspend and terminate officers found guilty by the council.

When asked about the impact of the Jax5 victory on the city of Jacksonville, Crooms told Fight Back!, “From this, we can a step towards fighting back against racism. This is a fight long overdue and we all know the issues of police relations with Black communities. We can use this incident as a call for community control of the police and take control over racist cops ourselves. It's long past time.”

#JacksonvilleFL #PoliceBrutality #PoliticalRepression #JacksonvilleSheriffsOffice #Jax5 #Jacksonville5

Connell Crooms and Dave Schneider had their charges dropped in full after the state attorney and Jacksonville Sheriff's Office failed to agree on what if anything they could possibly be charged with that would stick.

The remaining members of the Jax5, Christina Kittle, Toma Beckham and Willie Wilder, will face no jail time and no real punishment either.

This is a victory against police repression of activists. More analysis will follow in the coming days.

#JacksonvilleFL #AntiwarMovement #PoliceBrutality #PoliticalRepression #Jax5 #Jacksonville5

Jacksonville, FL – On Wednesday, May 17, Adam Putnam, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Republican candidate for governor of Florida, spoke in Jacksonville Beach at a campaign event. Just a few feet outside, his official campaign tour bus was pictured with “Convict the #Jax5” written in large white lettering on the back, directly below Putnam's name.

At the event, Putnam was pictured meeting with known white supremacist and provocateur William Garrett Nix, also known as “Gary Snow.” Nix, who has referred to Black people as “cave beasts” and “ghetto thugs,” provoked a fight at an anti-war protest in Jacksonville on April 7, leading to the beating and arrest of five activists by Jacksonville Sheriff's Office (JSO).

These five activists, dubbed the Jax5, included Connell Crooms, a deaf Black man who was beaten unconscious and hospitalized, along with Willie Wilder, a two-tour of duty Vietnam war veteran and peace activist. Christina Kittle, Toma Beckham and Dave Schneider were also arrested. All face felony charges for organizing and attending a peaceful protest broken up by white nationalists like Nix and police.

Befoe April 7, Nix made videos threatening two of the Jax5 by name, lighting a pan-African flag on fire, and repeatedly shooting the burning flag with a handgun.

Does Putnam believe protesters should be jailed?

The Adam Putnam for Governor campaign has not yet commented on the incident.

“It's unclear whether Commissioner Putnam himself wrote these comments, or whether it was a campaign staffer or supporter,” said Wells Todd, organizer with the Jacksonville Progressive Coalition in a press release. “Either way, Putnam should immediately erase this despicable comment, apologize to the greater Jacksonville community, and if he wasn't responsible, denounce known white nationalists like Nix. This man wants to be Governor of Florida, and yet his campaign bus calls for the jailing of peaceful protesters. That's not a sign of leadership – that's a sign of dictatorship.”

Sara Mahmoud, a Palestinian rights and Black Lives Matter community activist, said, “Putnam posing with Gary Snow is worrisome all by itself, considering Snow's history in Chicago and the way he's making a name for himself in Jacksonville as a right-wing agitator that weaponizes already dangerous police aggression.”

Putnam is far from the first politician to appear chummy with Nix. Just days after the beating and arrest of the Jax5, pictures surfaced of Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams smiling alongside Nix at the Trump campaign headquarters during the 2016 election. Nix also appeared alongside former State Attorney Angela Corey, who became infamous for incarcerating more juveniles than any other part of the state and botching the prosecution of George Zimmerman, the killer of Trayvon Martin, in 2013.

Speaking to this, Mahmoud continued, “Putnam's campaign bus being tagged with the slogan 'Convict the #Jax5' proves that the attack on the Jax5 is a much bigger deal outside of the local community than JSO and the State Attorney's office lets on, as well as Putnam falling in line with the trend of overt right-wing politics resurfacing.”

Thus far, Putnam faces two major Democrat challengers for Florida's 2018 gubernatorial election: Andrew Gillum, the mayor of Tallahassee, and former congresswoman Gwen Graham. Well-known progressive trial lawyer John Morgan has also hinted at entering the race. Putnam also faces two challengers for the GOP nomination: central Florida doctor Usha Jain and small business owner Daniel Zutler.

The fight to win justice for the Jax5 escalates

Community groups across the country have called on State Attorney Melissa Nelson to drop all charges on the Jax5. On May 1, activists with Color of Change – a national civil rights organization – delivered over 60,000 petitions signed from across Florida and the U.S. calling for the charges to be dropped. Later that day, over 200 people rallied outside the Duval County Courthouse for International Workers Day to call on Nelson to drop the charges.

The State Attorney has repeatedly delayed the arraignment for the Jax5, which was originally set for May 1. As of publication, the arraignment was moved to May 31 at the Duval County Courthouse.

Taking action

In a press statement, the Jacksonville Progressive Coalition called on Commissioner Putnam to erase the written attack on the Jax5 from his campaign bus and condemn white nationalists like Nix.

“We hope activists around the country, who have already fought so hard for the Jax5, will take this next step and email Putnam's campaign,” said JPC organizer Fernando Figueroa. “Ask them if they support the disgusting remarks that appeared on Putnam's bus, and if not, urge him to publicly denounce white nationalists like Nix.”

For activists across the state of Florida, the implications are as clear as they are disturbing. “If Putnam doesn't distance himself from Snow – and fast,” said Mahmoud, “he will have inadvertently accepted the associations between himself and a known white nationalist.”

The Putnam campaign email address is info@adamputnam.com.

#JacksonvilleFL #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #Antiracism #Antifascism #FreeJax5 #Jax5

Organizers of the press conference called upon State Attorney Melissa Nelson to drop the remaining charges on the Jax5 and conduct a full investigation into the brutality and abuses that occurred on April 7. The Jax5 were originally supposed to have their first day in court on May 1, but that date was moved – first to May 10 and again to May 17.

Inside the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, several important civil rights leaders and activists met with Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams and raised the issue with them. They also presented for the first time in Jacksonville an outlined demand for a Jacksonville Police Accountability Council or JPAC, modeled after similar legislation being fought for by the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression. Sheriff Mike Williams gave no concrete responses to any of the demands raised.

“The State Attorney needs to drop the charges on the Jax5. The police are in theory supposed to work for the community around them. Holding those officers that commit crimes accountable fosters honesty, justice and transparency,” said Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) lead organizer Monique Williamson. Activists vowed to continue fighting for the charges on the Jax5 to be dropped and begin a citywide campaign for police accountability in Jacksonville.

#JacksonvilleFL #AntiwarMovement #PoliceBrutality #JacksonvilleSheriffsOffice #Jax5 #Jacksonville5

Jacksonville, FL – The University of North Florida chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) hosted a panel discussion, April 25, titled “Civil Rights in the Era of the Jax5.” The Jax5 are the five anti-war activists who were brutalized by police and arrested on April 7 in Jacksonville’s Hemming Park.

At the April 25 event, SDS brought together community organizers, student activists, professors and various student groups to discuss what happened April 7, and what it means for activists and the community of Jacksonville. Sponsored by six student groups, the event brought out about around 45 people involved in different movements. The support that this event received shows that students are interested in what is happening in the community, and this event helped bridge the divide between campus and community.

The panel discussion, moderated by SDS Vice President Aitana Arguedas, included, John Phillips, a lawyer in the Jax5 case; Wells Todd of Veterans for Peace; John Aloszka of the UNF Dems; David Jaffee, a professor of sociology at the university, and Ryan McClure of SDS.

The discussion topics focused on moving forward in light of the police surveillance and corresponding police attacks by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. The panel discussed safety measures, long-term strategy and what these attacks mean in the Trump era. The discussion ended by assessing how we bring the camp