Gainesville resident James Dewar, 42, has been charged with vandalizing the Gainesville Mayor’s office and threatening Harvey Ward in March of this year.
Dewar, who is currently unemployed, is being held at the Alachua County Jail and has an extensive record, including a felony conviction and eight misdemeanor adjudications.
Judge David P. Kreider signed an arrest warrant for Dewar on May 1, but he was not arrested until Aug. 23. At his first court appearance on Aug. 24, Dewar’s bail was set at $70,000. He was ordered to make no direct or indirect contact with Mayor Ward, is trespassed from City Hall facilities and is not allowed to possess a weapon or firearm. His next court date has not yet been set.
According to the arrest report, on the night of March 26, multiple objects were used to break the window of Mayor Ward’s office at Gainesville’s City Hall, and a note was found with demands to shut down the department of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). The letter stated, in part: “Mr. Ward, you insult our intelligence, and we have had enough… You won’t listen to our words, so we now speak in the language of our January 6th brothers and sisters.”
In the letter, Dewar went on to say that he is not racist but, “I’m simply tired of us whites having to take it on the chin. Those days are over and anyways people like me do not care about being called racist! (you call me that in a meeting).”
In an interview with WUFT, Ward said he thinks Dewar took personal offense to a statement made publicly regarding DEI initiatives during a Gainesville City Commission meeting, but clarified that he has never spoken to or met with Dewar.
Gainesville’s City Hall is an historical building, built in 1958. “It’s not cheap to repair or replace the damage that was done with this incident but it’s mostly fixed,” said Ward.
“Some new security measures have been adopted including metal detectors for the City Hall Auditorium, additional fencing for the north side of the building, among others’” said Ward.
According to the sworn complaint, property damages incurred by Dewar are estimated to be around $18,812.
