A.G. Gancarski
The 4th Circuit State Attorney is subpoenaing members, past and present, of the Donna Deegan administration in an ongoing controversy about what critics say is an illegal gun registry maintained in Jacksonville city buildings since July 2023.
As first reported by Jake Stofan of Action News Jax, the targeted parties include Chief Administrative Officer Karen Bowling, former acting General Counsel Bob Rhodes, former city lawyer and current City Council lawyer Jason Teal, Pat McCollough, Kelli O’Leary, and former public safety chief Lakeisha Burton, who co-chaired the transition.
The Mayor herself is not among the list of names at this point, which also includes Roy Birbal, Mike Soto, and Steven Long. They worked for the previous administration and were retained.
Communications are sought including the words “firearm,” “gun,” “weapon,” “screening,” “security,” “constitutional carry,” “log,” “logbook,” “list,” and “First Coast Security.” That latter name is the firm contracted to handle security and the list of those carrying guns into City Hall and the Yates Building after a permitless carry law went into effect the day Deegan was sworn in.
The reporting comes after State Attorney Melissa Nelson asked Jacksonville City Council Republicans to hold their fire regarding a probe into an “illegal gun registry” at City Hall via a “formal request” to “delay or pause any attempt” of an internal City Council investigation.
Florida Statutes 790.335 bans registries under threat of criminal and civil penalties.
Attorney General James Uthmeier and former Mayor Lenny Curry have spoken out against the alleged list making.
Deegan’s Office has said the “policy in question was created and written before Mayor Deegan took office.”
General Counsel Michael Fackler is not handling the defense personally; however, the effort is being kept all in the family, with the Bedell Law Firm of his father-in-law, Hank Coxe, being charged with defending city employees swept up in the probe.
“Communications with the Bedell Law Firm have all been oral,” says a Deegan spokesperson.
