Duval school board halts public comment after anti-Muslim remarks, fires Baldwin principal over gun in car

The Duval County School Board stopped its meeting and cleared the chamber Monday night, Nov. 9, after a public speaker's remarks about Muslims set off shouting from a crowd that had come to demand the resignation of board member Tony Ricardo over an anti-Islam post he reportedly reshared on Facebook. Later in the same meeting, the board voted to fire Baldwin Middle-Senior High School Principal Michael Smith after a loaded gun was found in his car on campus in September.

The board was also scheduled to vote that night on a policy that would let some adults keep legally owned guns locked in their vehicles on school property. News outlets that covered the meeting had not reported the outcome of that vote as of Tuesday.

Why public comment was halted

The remarks that stopped the meeting came from a speaker during public comment, not from a board member. Shortly before 8:15 p.m., a man who identified himself as Jake Lang and called himself a "crusader" made comments about the Muslim community, according to News4JAX. Action News Jax identified him as Edward "Jacob" Lang, a participant in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol who was pardoned by President Donald Trump. The station quoted him as saying, "Muslim cockroaches have invaded the holes of our liberty." He appeared to be wearing a bulletproof vest, Action News Jax reported.

Attendees called the remarks hate speech and demanded that he be removed. Board Chair Charlotte Joyce stopped the meeting and moved everyone out of the chamber, News4JAX reported. She had arranged for extra law enforcement ahead of time to escort disorderly attendees out. Nearly a dozen people walked out and several were escorted out, according to Action News Jax. After a break of about 10 minutes, speakers were brought back in one at a time, and the public was later allowed to return.

The Ricardo post

Many in the crowd came because of a Facebook post that Ricardo, who represents District 1, reportedly reshared. According to Action News Jax, the post called Islam "an invasive political cult," said "we got lost in the myth that Islam is a religion" and described the Quran as instructions for jihad. News4JAX reported that the post appears to have originated with a group called Americans Against Islamification and has since been deleted from Ricardo's personal page, though a screenshot of the reshare is still circulating.

Action News Jax said it could not independently confirm that Ricardo shared the post because the Facebook account, which matches his profile picture, is private. Ricardo did not respond to the station's email and phone call, and no comment from him at Monday's meeting was reported.

Calls to resign, and his defenders

Ranna Abduljawad, a Muslim American and DCPS parent who helped organize a group of Muslim mothers to attend the meeting, said the board should hold Ricardo accountable and push him to apologize publicly or resign, News4JAX reported. "There's absolutely a teaching moment," she said.

Others spoke in his defense. Jack Nocki, who said he came to support Ricardo, told the board, "Sitting on a school board doesn't mean we lose that right," and said, "There should be no discussion on any removal," according to News4JAX. Duval County Republican Party Chair Charles Barr said he will not ask Ricardo to step aside, Action News Jax reported.

Before the meeting, the post drew criticism from several officials, according to Action News Jax:

• Wilfredo Ruiz of CAIR Florida said Ricardo should immediately resign and apologize.
• Jacksonville City Council member Jimmy Peluso called for his resignation.
• Mayor Donna Deegan said, "Religious prejudice does not belong anywhere in our city."
• Board members Melody Bolduc and Darryl Willie said an apology was warranted, and member Reginald Blount said he stands for respect for all faiths.

Duval County Public Schools said individual board members' views reflect their personal perspectives and do not represent the board or the district. Under the Florida Constitution, an elected school board member cannot be removed by fellow board members; only the governor has the power to suspend county officers.

Board fires Baldwin principal

The board voted Monday to terminate Smith, who led Baldwin Middle-Senior High School, News4JAX and First Coast News reported. The vote count was not reported. Superintendent Christopher Bernier and two other district leaders will lead the school as an interim team until a new principal is named.

The case began Sept. 15, when Duval County School Police received an anonymous tip that a firearm was on school grounds. Smith declined to consent to a search of his vehicle, but after a police dog alerted twice, he agreed, according to News4JAX. Officers found a loaded .40-caliber Sig Sauer handgun in the center console. District officials said there was no indication he intended to harm anyone. Bernier said at the time, "At no time is it safe for anyone to be on our campuses with a gun."

Smith was issued a notice to appear on a second-degree misdemeanor charge of possessing a firearm on school property and was reassigned to home. That charge was dropped Nov. 5 after he completed a pretrial intervention program, according to court records cited by First Coast News. Smith had been appointed after the school's previous principal was arrested in June on a charge of failing to report suspected child abuse.

Guns in parked cars

The Baldwin case prompted the board to take up whether to change a district rule that bars firearms in any vehicle parked on school grounds, locked or unlocked. Florida law allows a legally owned firearm to be kept securely encased in a vehicle on school property but lets school districts opt out of that exception, and Duval has done so.

The proposed policy would let administrators, employees, independent contractors and parents, but not students, keep a legally possessed firearm secured and not readily accessible inside a vehicle parked on district property, including during school events such as football games, according to News4JAX.

The board has been split. Vice Chair April Carney argued that staff members should not lose the ability to protect themselves, citing a teacher leaving a late event alone. Member Cindy Pearson said, "I don't think it is going to make our school safer," and asked how often vehicle break-ins happen in school lots. Bolduc questioned how often anyone leaves a building to retrieve a gun from a car and threaten someone. District officials said they would review five years of weapons-related incidents with school police and the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.

What's next

The result of the guns-in-vehicles vote, and any next step on that policy, had not been reported Tuesday. Ricardo has not publicly responded to the calls for his resignation, and Baldwin Middle-Senior High remains under interim district leadership while the district searches for a new principal and reviews its hiring process.