The Ocala City Council abruptly ended the public comments portion of its meeting on Tuesday night, telling multiple speakers who had signed up to speak about the conflict in the Gaza Strip that their comments were redundant and unnecessary.
Just one meeting after Ocala City Council members unanimously voted to move public comments to the end of their meetings, a slew of residents showed up to make comments on the Middle East.
In prior meetings, those residents were allowed to speak during the public comments section of the meeting, which was previously at the beginning of the agenda.
Tuesday night marked the first meeting with new “Rules of Order” that Ocala City Council members adopted during their last meeting.
Following over an hour of discussion on various agenda items, as well as reports by the city manager, Ocala Police Department, Ocala Fire Rescue, and City Attorney, the public was invited to make comments on topics of interest.
As soon as the first speaker made his remarks about the Gaza Strip, councilmember James Hilty, Sr. stopped further comments to make a remark about the nature of commenting during the meeting.
“This, I believe, is our fifth time that we’ve heard this. Normally in public comments, you ask if someone is going to repeat something that’s already been said,” said Hilty. “So I think at this point, we’ve heard enough from both sides.”
Hilty went on to propose that the council should agree not to sign a ceasefire document.
“So out of respect of everybody’s opinion, I request that we have no more comment…and agree that we will not sign any resolution for a ceasefire,” said Hilty.
He was seconded on the motion by council president pro-tem Kirsten Dreyer.
Council member Jay Musleh said he preferred if the council did not vote on a motion because it would require “public comment,” but agreed with Hilty’s sentiment.
“I have heard and I have heard and I have heard…Ocala cannot have an impact on the region. I appreciate everybody’s comments from both sides. A lot of the comments are quite eloquent,” said Musleh. “But this is not a matter for Ocala City Council to consider. It never should have been a matter for the Ocala City Council to consider.”
Musleh said it was “sad” that the council had to resort to a motion when it was all “pretty much” on the same page about the resolution.
Hilty took his comments one step further and noted that he was the only person on the council that had “been at war.” The council member then cited his service in Vietnam before stating that Hamas had to be “wiped out.”
“I understand what’s happening over there. We cannot prevent it. I went to Vietnam to try to end communism. We couldn’t beat it. Same things are happening here. The annihilation of Hamas is what really has to happen,” said Hilty. “Again, out of respect for everybody, we’ve heard it all. There’s nothing new.”
“This is not the business of Ocala,” said council president Barry Mansfield on the matter. Mansfield said it pained him that the council was put in this position.
“I really do believe that we live in the greatest country in the world and that we have an opportunity to sit and discuss things. But this is not the time and place. This is not the business of Ocala. It pains me that we’re even here,” said Mansfield.
After comments by City Attorney William Sexton saying it was “entirely appropriate” for council to “move on with other important business.”
Instead of proceeding with a vote on Hilty’s motion, Mansfield and the rest of the council simply agreed to move on and end public comments at the meeting, with multiple speakers not given the opportunity to take the podium.
After the decision, members of the audience screamed out that the council was engaging in “censorship” and that it was “shameful.”
“If you can’t stop talking out, leave the room. It’s very simple. Fall in line,” said Dreyer to the dissenters in the room.
The decision to end public comments on Tuesday night came after several meetings in which members of the public spoke at length about the conflict in the Gaza Strip.
Over those meetings, Ocala City Council members became increasingly more agitated with the nature of the comments, but were careful not to engage directly with the public on the matter.
During the April 2 meeting of the council, in a motion that had no public discussion and wasn’t decided until the last four minutes of a nearly two-hour meeting, the council changed its “Rules of Order” for the first time since 2019 in order to move public comments to the end of its meetings.
The move was made to address those who continually spoke on the Gaza conflict, with council members reassuring that public comments could still be made during the meeting on the specific topics in the agenda.