Alachua County Republican Party letter argues that City Commissioner Casey Willits’ actions escalated tension and hostility at School Board meeting

Staff report

ALACHUA COUNTY, Fla. – Alachua County Republican Chairman Tim Marden has sent a letter to Gainesville City Attorney Daniel Nee, arguing that City Commissioner Casey Willits’s actions led to an escalation of the tension and hostility at the School Board of Alachua County meeting on July 31.

“Dear Attorney Nee,

“Be advised, in our judgment, City Commissioner Casey Willits directly contributed to the escalation of tension and hostility toward citizen Jeremy Clepper at a recent School Board of Alachua County meeting.

“During the July 31st Board meeting, Willits was standing at the podium, awaiting his turn to speak, when School Board Vice Chair Tina Certain asked him to wait while she asked deputies to remove Clepper from the public chamber for unspecified reasons. Certain can be heard saying, “Wait just a second, Casey…” at the 1:54:23 mark of the YouTube broadcast.

“Video evidence (1:55:12 mark) shows Willits, despite Certain’s request, yelling into the microphone and pointing at Clepper while saying, “Protect our board members, officers! Protect our board members!” 11 seconds later, Willits turns and hands the microphone to Faye Williams, who had been sitting behind him before she stood up and started shouting. Williams goes on to contend that the officers should “Put his ass out [of the chambers].” Williams even went so far as to assert that the meeting was “our meeting,” referring to herself and other Board supporters like Willits; she also called Clepper a “white supremacist.” By handing the microphone to Williams, who was already shouting, Commissioner Willits inserted himself into the situation and made it worse.

“Had this meeting erupted further, Commissioner Casey Willits would have been at least partially to blame. As it stands, action may still be pending. We continue to monitor the situation on behalf of Alachua County Republicans and recommend that you discuss and document with Commissioner Willits any potential personal and professional ramifications of his actions.

“Fortunately, Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputies were able to defuse and de-escalate the situation after a recess was called.

“Sincerely, Tim Marden, Alachua County Republican Chairman”

Background (click here for our full article and the video clip):

During general public comment, about 30 people spoke in support of Chair Sarah Rockwell after she apologized for posting “One less MAGA in the world,” referring to the death of Hulk Hogan; however, the room erupted into chaos after a man who identified himself as Jeremy criticized Rockwell and other board members: “You know what you said, and you should step down.”

Vice Chair Tina Certain, who was chairing the meeting after Chair Sarah Rockwell handed the gavel to her because Rockwell is still recovering from surgery, told the next speaker, Gainesville City Commissioner Casey Willits, to wait because she was having Jeremy removed. Deputies approached Jeremy, who argued that he had the right to be in a public meeting, and the audience started jeering and telling him to leave. Board Attorney David Delaney advised against removing Jeremy, and Certain announced that he could stay. The audience began chanting, “Get out! Get out! Get out!” Faye Williams stood up and started yelling, “This is our meeting! Get out!” Willits handed her the microphone. Williams continued yelling into the microphone that Jeremy should be removed, including, “He’s a white supremacist, so put his a** out!”; after about a minute of yelling, the meeting went into a recess to restore order.

After a few minutes, it was announced that Jeremy could stay but was choosing to leave “so that we can continue with the meeting.”