Duval School Board halts meeting when anger mounts over anti-Islam post
Jacksonville Florida Times-Union | By: Steve Patterson | November 10, 2026
Duval County’s School Board recessed a meeting and cleared its chamber November 9 after angry exchanges between supporters and opponents of an anti-Islamic message that board member Tony Ricardo shared online.
Both sides were among the 101 people, including a failed lieutenant governor candidate and a man pardoned for his part in the January 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol, who signed up to make public comments during the monthly meeting, the last for three members whose successors were chosen during the November 3 election.
Speakers were warned before comments began that disrupting a board meeting could be a misdemeanor and might lead to arrest.
Board Chair Charlotte Joyce cleared the room about two hours and 15 minutes into the meeting as tempers overheated, some away from a microphone used to address the board.
The board resumed meeting about 20 minutes later, with more people, including many who had come to the discuss completely unrelated subjects, allowed to deliver remarks, but effects of the heated emotions lingered almost until the meeting ended near 11:30 p.m.
“Folks were trembling in here,” member Darryl Willie said.
“I didn’t feel safe up here tonight,” said Vice Chair April Carney.
One of the members whose term in office was ending, Carney reflected how she was previously comfortable that her board avoided messy displays that turn meeting videos into clickbait.
“… Tonight we became one of those other school boards who are going to be all over the internet for God knows how long,” Carney said. “… This is not how I wanted to end my tenure.”
Tony Ricardo, shown in a 2024 School Board candidate photo.
Ricardo had been the subject of both condemnation and praise online since November 1, when a critic circulated online a Facebook message Ricardo appeared to have shared that said “Islam is not a religion … Islam is an invasive political cult.” Some critics had called for Ricardo’s resignation while backers said he was courageous.
The November 9 meeting was the first board gathering since then and attracted people who continued the debate in person.
“Tony Ricardo spoke the truth,” said one supporter, Chris Smith.
Sean Lozano, who was Republican James Fishback’s running mate in the 2026 governor’s race, told the board he respected Ricardo’s right to express his thoughts. “I’m not a Zionist, I’m just here to protect our First Amendment right,” he told the board. Other supporters included Jake Lang, a right-wing activist jailed after the January 6 riot in Washington and pardoned in 2025.
Others, some identifying themselves by religious titles, echoed Smith’s argument, saying Islam’s Quran contains instruction for tasks including operating an Islamic government.
But opposing speakers likened that to Christian believers carrying their faith into every part of their lives and said Islam was being wrongly vilified.
“Such a statement [as Ricardo shared] is deeply offensive,” said Anita Sheikh, a teacher who is Muslim.
James Matchett, a Northside civic activist, told the board that angry language happens “when we normalize hate. … Let’s get back to talking to each other, and not at each or about each other, and we’ll get to a better place.”
A student from Wolfson School for Advanced Studies, Emma Mae Abernathy, came to speak on a different subject but said “I feel so sorry for all members of Islam … For you to feel attacked, that is not OK.”
School Board member Melody Bolduc, who said Sheikh has been a friend for many years, said she was “praying for healing for our community” after seeing divides on display.
“My Christian faith calls me to love my neighbor,” Bolduc said. “What I saw here tonight wasn’t a good display … Our children are watching and I’d like them to see something better than they saw tonight.”
