Clay County Sheriff’s Office arrests Black Lives Matter protester

CLAY COUNTY, Fla. — A local man, Kevin Conner, tells Action News Jax he was arrested in Clay County Thursday while peacefully protesting.

According to a Clay County Sheriff’s Office arrest report obtained by Action News Jax, deputies responded to 1505 County Road 220 in reference to a man waving a large black flag and stepping into the roadway impeding traffic.

Clay County deputies say in the report that Conner ignored commands to step away from the road. He was charged with resisting without violence.

Action News Jax reporter Ryan Nelson spoke to Conner virtually as he sat next to his attorney, John Phillips.

Conner tells us he had two separate interactions with deputies while protesting on Thursday.

In the first interaction, Conner says a deputy told him he could not be in the median, so he and the other protesters moved to the northeast corner of the entrance to Walmart on C.R. 220 to comply.

“That spot where he put us where he wanted us to be, is the spot where 53 minutes later I guess it was, the other officer comes and says ‘What are you doing here? You’re obstructing traffic,' like basically saying we shouldn’t be there,” Conner said.

Conner’s second interaction with Clay County deputies resulted in his arrest.

“This is a classic case of an attempt to suppress the first amendment right that we have to free speech,” Conner said.

In the report, Clay deputies said Conner was “… obstructing the vision of drivers exiting the driveway …” and “… stepped into the roadway with his flags.”

Deputies say he disobeyed commands to move out of the road.

Action News Jax asked Conner whether he was in the roadway, obstructing traffic, after his initial interaction with Clay County Deputies.

“That is completely false, I’d love to see any video that says that,” Conner said.

Phillips expressed concerns about the justification for his client’s arrest and pointed out that his client was not arrested for obstructing traffic.

“What they arrested him for was resisting arrest, even though by clear video he didn’t resist arrest,” said Phillips.

George Alger shot a video of Conner’s protest and arrest. He tells a different story.

Alger says Conner stepped into the turning lane as drivers were exiting the parking lot and was impacting the flow of traffic.

“Instead of the peaceful protest like everybody talks about, it was the antagonizing protest,” he said.

Alger says he saw Conner interacting with deputies in the moments before the arrest.

“Finally, the officers, just finally, you know, had to put him under arrest,” Alger said.

Action News Jax law and safety expert Dale Carson explained how the court will unpack this case.

“The broader question for this particular case is, did the individual actually impede traffic when he was expressing his opinion? And if he did so, why wasn’t he charged with impeding traffic?” Carson said.

Action News Jax told you last week when Clay County Sheriff Darryl Daniels released a video saying peaceful protesters would be protected and allowed to demonstrate, but violent unrest may result Daniels’ tapping lawful gun owners in the county as special deputies. Daniels said he would do this in the event CCSO could not handle riots on its own.

Conner tells Action News Jax he joined the Black Lives Matter movement several years ago but began protesting in Clay County after the death of George Floyd, and the arrest of CNN reporter Omar Jimenez, in Minneapolis. MN.

He says he’s protested several times at the intersection of Blanding and Kingsley in Clay and has started a Black Lives Matter movement specific to Clay County in social media campaigns in recent weeks.

Action News Jax also spoke to Conner’s girlfriend, Catherine Crowley, who was at the protest in its initial stages, but was not present at the time of Conner’s arrest.

“We’re not here to divide this county. We’re here to unite this county,” Crowley said.

Conner tells us he’s organized a Black Lives Matter protest for Saturday at 10 a.m. in Clay County on Blanding Boulevard.

Action News Jax has reached out to the Clay County Sheriff’s Office asking why Connor was arrested, why he wasn’t charged with obstructing traffic, and whether the sheriff’s office was aware of tomorrow’s planned protest.

A sheriff’s office spokesperson told us they were working on a reply. We will update you with their response to our request for comment once it is received.

Cox Media Group