No charges to be filed in an alleged illegal gun registry maintained by the City of Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The State Attorney’s Office announced on Wednesday that no charges will be filed following an eight-month investigation into an allegedly illegal gun registry maintained by the city of Jacksonville.

Action News Jax was first to discover the city had been keeping names and other personal information of people who entered city buildings while armed. Despite some city leaders alleging the mayor had knowledge of this list, the new report concludes that wasn’t the case.

The lists started being kept after the state prohibited local governments from barring gun owners from carrying concealed weapons in government buildings.

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Council Vice President Nick Howland questioned who knew what and when, as the creation of an illegal gun registry carries felony charges. Local governments found to be keeping them can face a $5 million fine.

Howland said on May 1, “But it’s not up to me to determine who has given the directive. It’s up to the State Attorney.”

The allegations resulted in a criminal investigation, which saw at least nine current and former city officials subpoenaed, including members of both Mayor Donna Deegan’s and former Mayor Lenny Curry’s Administrations.

Records showed a draft of the policy was created the day before Mayor Deegan took office, but email conversations between Deegan officials about the city’s gun policy were happening at the same time.

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At the time, Mayor Deegan said the policy was not known to high-level administration members.

In a May 14 interview, Deegan said, “From what I can gather, this was a person who was very concerned about making sure that there was nothing to worry about in terms of security in the building.”

Now, the final report has resulted in vindication for both mayors.

The report found the policy originated at the directive of a public works manager in the middle of the administration change, and the policy was never reviewed by the city’s office of general counsel, despite that manager believing it had been.

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Investigators discovered no evidence that the policy was ever reviewed or approved by any senior officials in the Curry or Deegan administrations, and that “there is no evidence that the data in the logbooks was distributed, copied, or used for law enforcement or any other purpose.”

The report highlights the terms “knowingly and willfully” in the gun registry statute as justification for not pressing charges, with investigators concluding, “The logbook incident stemmed from poor communication and a lack of legal review — not from deliberate misconduct.”

Investigators recommended improvements to legal reviews of new policies, increased oversight, and an audit of existing policies to prevent any future potential violations of state law.

City leaders are responding to the conclusion of the investigation. Mayor Deegan’s Office issued a statement thanking the State Attorney’s Office, adding, “They confirmed that the policy in question was implemented by an individual employee concerned with building security unbeknownst to Mayor Deegan or her leadership team.”

Council Vice President Howland told us in part, “This episode underscores the need to remain vigilant in ensuring that the rights of Jacksonville residents are preserved.”

But Florida’s Attorney General James Uthmeier isn’t so happy.

After Action News Jax broke news of the investigation’s conclusion, Uthmeier called the lack of charges “unacceptable” and said, “State Attorney Melissa Nelson will be hearing from my office soon”.

He concluded by saying bluntly, “This isn’t over.”

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