Gainesville woman faces federal firearm charge

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Jomekia Archer, 46, has been indicted in federal court for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, announced the charge.

Archer appeared in federal court for her arraignment before United States Magistrate Judge Midori A. Lowry in Gainesville, Florida. Jury trial is scheduled for June 17, 2026, before Chief District Court Judge Allen C. Winsor in Gainesville, Florida.

Original arrest

Archer was originally arrested on March 14, 2026, for pointing a rifle at a group of neighbors that included children.

At about 10:29 p.m. on March 14, Gainesville Police Department officers responded to a home in Lincoln Estates, where the victims said Archer was angry because somebody had parked a car in front of her home. The victims said Archer became belligerent and started yelling and cursing at them and telling them to move their cars.

The victims said Archer kept saying, “I got some for y’all,” and at one point, she went inside her home and came out with a rifle, which she allegedly held at her hip while pointing it at the victims, including several children. The victims said they were in fear for their lives and started getting the children indoors; one victim called 911.

Archer went back into her house briefly but then allegedly came out, holding the rifle, and pointed it at the victims again. When one victim said she was calling law enforcement, Archer reportedly said, “Call who you wanna call, I don’t give a [expletive].” Archer reportedly went back inside her house and then came out without the rifle.

Archer is being held without bail, and she is facing formal state charges of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Archer faces up to 15 years’ imprisonment if convicted on the federal charge.

The case is being jointly investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Gainesville Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tyler Fleming.

An indictment is merely an allegation by a grand jury that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal law and is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.