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(NEPTUNE BEACH, Fla.) — An 18-year-old was arrested outside a Florida polling location Tuesday after police said he wielded a machete in order to intimidate voters.

Caleb James Williams faces charges of aggravated assaulted on a person 65 years of age or older and improper exhibition of a firearm or dangerous weapon.

In a press conference after the arrest, Neptune Beach Police Chief Michael J. Key said Williams “brandished a machete in an aggressive, threatening posture over his head” at two women, ages 71 and 54.

Williams was accompanied by seven other male teens, ages 16 and 17, who police said went to the Beaches Branch Library “to protest and antagonize the opposing political side.”

“The group was there for no other reason but for ill intentions to cause a disturbance,” Key said. “This is not an incident of solely a First Amendment protected right, but rather one where they were simply there to cause a ruckus.”

None of the other teens currently face any charges, but Key said the investigation is ongoing and additional charges are possible.

Duval County Democratic Party Chair Daniel Henry said in a statement the young men had been wielding flags bearing former President Donald Trump’s name during the incident, and that the individuals they confronted were carrying signs in support of Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

Henry described it as a “troubling act of intimidation” and thanked police for the swift response.

“Violence and intimidation have no place in our democratic process,” Henry said. “The Duval County Democratic Party stands with those who seek to express their views peacefully and without fear of reprisal.”

Key said he is “extremely proud” of police for their handling of the incident.

“Voting in our country is one of the most sacred and protected rights we have,” he said. “Ensuring everyone’s right to vote is crucial and it will not be impeded upon in Neptune Beach or Duval County.”

He also expressed his anger at the incident, and emphasized how seriously police will take such incidents.

“I don’t know if you can see the visceral anger I have, but I’m angry at this — I’m extremely angry at this.” Key said. “It is one thing to go up and exercise your First Amendment right, which we so dearly take as a sacred right to express. But again, the moment you move to violence, that goes out the window.”

“To say I’m disturbed is an understatement. I’m mad that this happened in Neptune Beach,” he added.

Police are in contact with Jerry Holland, the Duval County supervisor of elections, and Key said they are committed to protecting voters’ safety at the polls.

“This is a safe location to vote, it was a safe location to vote today before this incident, and it will continue to remain a safe location to vote,” he said.

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(NEW YORK) — The satirical website The Onion purchased InfoWars on Thursday, a capstone on years of litigation and bankruptcy proceedings following InfoWars founder Alex Jones’ defamation of families associated with the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre.

Those families backed The Onion’s bid to purchase InfoWars’ intellectual property, including its website, customer lists and inventory, certain social media accounts and the production equipment used to put Jones on the air. The Connecticut families agreed to forgo a portion of their recovery to increase the overall value of The Onion’s bid, enabling its success.

The families said the purchase would put an end to Jones’ misinformation campaign.

“We were told this outcome would be nearly impossible, but we are no strangers to impossible fights. The world needs to see that having a platform does not mean you are above accountability — the dissolution of Alex Jones’ assets and the death of Infowars is the justice we have long awaited and fought for,” said Robbie Parker, whose daughter Emilie was killed in the Sandy Hook shooting.

In 2022, the families that brought the case against Jones in Connecticut secured a $1.4 billion verdict in their defamation lawsuit. A Texas bankruptcy court ruled on the liquidation of Jones’ assets in June of this year, handing over control to an independent trustee tasked with selling them off to generate the greatest possible value for the families.

“From day one, these families have fought against all odds to bring true accountability to Alex Jones and his corrupt business. Our clients knew that true accountability meant an end to Infowars and an end to Jones’ ability to spread lies, pain and fear at scale. After surviving unimaginable loss with courage and integrity, they rejected Jones’ hollow offers for allegedly more money if they would only let him stay on the air because doing so would have put other families in harm’s way,” said Chris Mattei, attorney for the Connecticut plaintiffs and partner at Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder.

Jones had filed for bankruptcy last year in a bid to avoid paying the billion-dollar judgment, but a judge ruled he still had to settle with the Sandy Hook families.

Bankruptcy often staves off legal judgments but not if they are the result of willful and malicious injury. U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Christopher Lopez in Houston decided that standard was satisfied in Jones’ case.

“[I]n Jones’s case, the language of the jury instruction confirms that the damages awarded flow from the allegation of intent to harm the Plaintiffs – not allegations of recklessness,” Lopez wrote in his ruling.

Jones had claimed on his InfoWars show that the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School — which killed 26 people, including 20 elementary students — was performed by actors following a script written by government officials to bolster the push for gun control.

ABC News’ Max Zahn contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — A man is expected to appear in court Tuesday after allegedly killing three people in an apparent unprovoked stabbing spree in Manhattan, authorities said.

Ramon Rivera, 51, was charged on Monday with three counts of first-degree murder, according to the New York Police Department.

He confessed to the killings during questioning, according to police sources.

The first victim, 36-year-old Angel Lata Landi, was fatally stabbed in the abdomen at 8:22 a.m. Monday in an unprovoked attack by the construction site where he was working on West 19th Street, the NYPD said.

About two hours later, a 68-year-old man was fatally stabbed multiple times on East 30th Street, police said. His identity has not been released.

The third victim, 36-year-old Wilma Augustin, was attacked around 10:55 a.m. at 42nd Street and First Avenue. She had multiple stab wounds in the chest and arm, and she was taken to New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, where she later died, officials said.

The suspect — who was staying at the Bellevue Men’s Shelter on East 30th Street — appeared to pick the victims at random, police said.

Rivera was apprehended around East 46th Street and First Avenue, police said.

“He just walked up to them and began to attack them,” Chief of Detectives Joe Kenny said at a news conference.

Two bloody kitchen knives were recovered, police said.

Rivera has eight prior arrests in New York City, according to law enforcement, and is believed to have severe mental health challenges, Mayor Eric Adams said. Rivera’s case renewed frustration with the city’s inability to treat people in mental distress and hold people with a history of low-level criminal activity.

“There’s a real question as to why he was on the street,” Adams said.

Rivera’s prior arrests mainly involved shoplifting, officials said. None involved a weapon.

He was out without bail pending trial on his most recent arrests.

He had two documented interactions with the city while in mental distress.

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