Cauley Found Guilty of Battery on an Officer During City Council Meeting

State Attorney Melissa Nelson announces that a Duval County jury found Conor Cauley guilty of Battery on a Law Enforcement Office and Resisting an Officer without Violence for an incident at a 2025 Jacksonville City Council meeting. With the verdict, Cauley faces up to five years in Florida State Prison. The Honorable Mark Borello will sentence Cauley at a later date.

On May 27, 2025, the Jacksonville City Council held a meeting in its City Hall chambers. Council rules prohibit audience members from clapping, snapping, yelling, and other forms of demonstration during meetings. These rules are posted at the entrance of the meeting, are on speaker cards for those who wish to address the council, and read aloud during meetings. During this meeting, the City Council president issued numerous warnings to attendees about causing disruptions — eventually, after those warnings were not heeded, he instructed officers to remove anyone from the room who caused future disruptions. Co-defendant Leah Grady caused a disruption and was instructed by officers to leave. When she did not after multiple warnings, she was placed under arrest. During this interaction, Cauley stood up, began recording, and blocked the area where officers instructed Grady to leave. The officer put his arm up to separate Cauley from Grady and attempted to direct Cauley to back up. Cauley pushed the officer’s arm away, resulting in the officer physically removing Cauley from the area and placing him under arrest.

Grady was previously found guilty of Resisting an Officer without Violence to his or her Person and Resisting a Police Officer, both misdemeanors. The Honorable Julie Nelson will sentence Grady at a future court date.

The case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and prosecuted by Assistant State Attorney Kelli Shobe and Chief Assistant Adair Newman.