Join with the Anti War Action Network and the Committee to Stop FBI Repression to defend the right to protest for Palestine. We call on all our supporters to call or email the prosecutors in this case on January 14th to pressure for these outrageous charges to be dropped! On May 27, 2025, Leah Grady and Conor Cauley, two organizers with the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network (JPSN) and a third community member, Dragon Belloit, were brutalized and arrested after the Jacksonville City Council singled out Leah for removal for the simple act of clapping. While filming Leah’s arrest, Conor was grabbed by the neck by Officer Maykael Aliaga Ruiz and flipped over a row of benches. Dragon was arrested as well as simply a bystander. Leah and Dragon face misdemeanor charges of “resisting without violence.” Conor, who was most visibly brutalized, is being charged with two felonies of “battery on a law enforcement officer” and “resisting with violence.” Florida’s Fourth Judicial Circuit State Attorney Melissa Nelson, who is presenting these charges, is trying to make an example of JPSN’s organizers to crush anti-war action in Florida, and set a precedent across the rest of the country. These trumped up charges represent a clear attack on the Palestinian movement and we must fight back!
January 21st will be Conor Cauley’s final pretrial hearing. We call on all supporters to take action on January 14, the week prior to this hearing to demand:
– State Attorney of Florida’s 4th Judicial Circuit, Melissa Nelson, drops ALL charges on Conor Cauley, Leah Grady, and Dragon Belloit.
– The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office fire Officers Maykel Aliaga-Ruiz and Donovan Davis.
– The Jacksonville City Council and Mayor Deegan end the political repression of the Palestinian movement here in Jacksonville and our broader community.Please call or email on January 14th State Attorney Melissa Nelson’s & Prosecutor Kelli Lynn Shobe: (904) 255-2500. SAO4th@coj.net. ksho
SAMPLE SCRIPT:Hello,My name is [FIRST & LAST] and I am a resident of [CITY, STATE]. I am writing to urge that the charges pressed on Conor Cauley, Leah Grady and Dragon Belloit are immediately dropped and that the arresting officers, Maykael Aliaga-Ruiz and Donovan Davis, are held accountable for their actions on May 27th, 2025.On that day during a City Council meeting three community members, two of which are in the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network, were arrested and brutalized by JSO officers for speaking out for Palestine, like many other activists across this country.After surviving police violence, spending a day in jail and losing sources of income due to biased media coverage, the state attorney Melissa Nelson’s office not only continues to pursue trumped up charges but to escalate the charges filed on Conor in retaliation for rejecting the state’s meager plea deal, despite there being clear video evidence of every one of these charges being false.While the same video clearly shows Conor being forcefully grabbed by the neck and flipped over a row of benches by Officer Maykael Aliaga-Ruiz, what is less obvious is the damage done to Leah’s wrist as officer Donovan Davis handcuffed her with more force than necessary. Regarding Dragon, it seems that officers targeted them for simply being a concerned bystander.This is why I join alongside the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network (JPSN) and the wider community in Jacksonville to demand the following:
- State Attorney Melissa Nelson and assigned prosecutors must drop all charges filed against Leah Grady, Conor Cauley and Dragon Belloit.
- Sheriff T.K. Waters must fire both arresting officers Donovan Davis and Maykel Aliaga-Ruiz, who brutalized Leah Grady and Conor Cauley respectively.
- The City Council takes a pledge to stop ignoring their constituents. Rescind Ordinance 2024-0871-E which is being used to arbitrarily silence and brutalize our community.
