An 18-year-old accused of threatening voters with a machete at a polling station

(AP) – 18-year-old Donald Trump A fan faces criminal charges after police say he threatened two people Kamala Harris supporters with a two-foot (60-centimeter) machete during a campaign outside an early voting site in Florida.

Neptune Beach police records show Caleb James Williams is charged with aggravated assault on a person 65 years of age or older and a misdemeanor count of displaying a dangerous weapon.

Police Chief Michael Key Jr. said Williams and seven 16- and 17-year-olds went to a library in suburban Jacksonville on Tuesday afternoon specifically “to protest and antagonize the opposing political side.” Carrying Trump flags, they began shouting at a group of Harris supporters, which escalated.

Key showed a photo taken by a witness showing a smiling Williams “swinging a machete above his head in an aggressive, threatening stance.” The Harris supporters he allegedly threatened were women aged 71 and 54.

“This goes far beyond expressing free speech. Saying that your piece is your protected right under the First Amendment, but that disappears the moment you raise the machete above your head,” Key said. Neptune Beach is an upscale suburb of 7,000 residents and a median income of $110,000, according to census data.

Williams, a busboy at the restaurant, was being held in the Duval County Jail on $55,000 bail after his initial court appearance. In the case of the registered Republican’s release, a judge ordered him to stay within 1,000 feet of any polling place except to cast a ballot and wear an ankle monitor.

Police have charged a suspect with voter intimidation at a polling place in Florida.

Duval public defender Charlie Cofer, who was assigned Williams’ case, declined to comment. Williams’ father did not respond to messages left on his cell phone. The minimum penalty for aggravated assault on a senior citizen in Florida is three years in prison. The maximum number is 15.

Key said the seven juveniles with Williams have not committed any crimes, but the investigation is ongoing.

Duval County Democratic Party Chairman Daniel Henry said Williams committed a “disturbing act of intimidation.”

“Violence and intimidation have no place in our democratic process. The Duval County Democratic Party stands with those who want to express their views peacefully and without fear of reprisal. We urge all citizens to continue to engage in civic activities respectfully and lawfully,” Henry said in a statement.

Dean Black, chairman of the Duvalu Republican Party, thanked police for Williams’ arrest, but in a statement said Democrats and others were to blame for the angry political atmosphere around the election.

“In an atmosphere of high political tension, where President Trump has survived two assassination attempts and Republican supporters are mocked as Nazis and called ‘garbage’ by Joe Biden, we call for calm,” Black said.

President Biden, speaks on Tuesday of a comedian at a weekend Trump rally who called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage,” he said: “The only garbage floating there is his supporters.”

19-year-old man from Pennsylvania who shot at Trump during a July rally, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was a registered Republican but made a $15 donation to the Democratic group. Crooks was killed by a Secret Service sniper.

Ryan Routh, who was accused last month of surveilling 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 now a registered independent citizen. He also wrote a book calling on Iran to assassinate Trump.