Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has announced a $5 million lawsuit against the City of Jacksonville for allegedly maintaining an illegal gun registry.

“We are taking the City of Jacksonville to court for knowingly and willfully keeping an illegal gun registry in violation of Florida law,” Uthmeier stated.

In March, Uthmeier challenged State Attorney Melissa Nelson’s decision not to pursue criminal charges after discovering that city security logbooks recorded privately-owned firearms and individuals carrying them into two city buildings.

In a letter responding to Nelson’s January 2, 2026, decision, Uthmeier noted his office lacks jurisdiction to prosecute but has a duty under Florida Statutes to ensure consistent enforcement of state law.

Uthmeier cited section 790.335(2)(a) of the Florida Statutes, which makes it unlawful for a “local government” or an “employee of [a] government entity” to “knowingly and willfully keep or cause to be kept any list, record, or registry of privately owned firearms or any list, record, or registry of the owners of those firearms.”

The attorney general’s letter stated that logbooks maintained from July 2023 through April 2025 contained “more than 140 entries recording the names, birthdates, ID numbers, and firearm types of over 100 individuals.” Uthmeier concluded these entries constitute a forbidden “list, record, or registry” because they documented privately-owned firearms, regardless of whether the log explicitly stated private ownership.

Uthmeier also rejected Nelson’s finding that no one acted “knowingly and willfully,” stating that the statute requires only that a person intended to keep the log and knew it documented privately owned firearms. He emphasized ignorance of the law is not a defense.

“The City of Jacksonville’s creation of a gun registry for any reason is unlawful and reprehensible,” Uthmeier previously stated.

An eight-month investigation by the State Attorney’s Office found no criminal wrongdoing, with the final report indicating that the city employee involved did not realize their actions violated the law. However, in the newly filed suit, Uthmeier argued that as far back as 2007, city attorneys had addressed the issue of tracking gun owners entering city buildings.

Uthmeier alleged a memo drafted by city attorneys in 2007 specifically warned the city could not create or maintain a gun registry.

The attorney general also claimed the logbook policy was “compiled and maintained with the knowledge or complicity of City management” because it was crafted by the city facility manager and approved by the City’s Deputy Chief Administrative Officer.

The complaint alleges former Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Charles Moreland approved the logbook policy on July 13, less than two weeks after Mayor Donna Deegan assumed office. This allegation differs from the State Attorney’s Office report, which stated the directive was never reviewed or approved by “any senior official in either the Curry or Deegan administrations.”

Appointed by former Mayor Lenny Curry in 2022, Moreland served as Deputy Chief Administrative Officer under Mayor Deegan for approximately two months.