Attorney General James Uthmeier is suing the city of Jacksonville for keeping lists of people carrying firearms into City Hall and the Yates Building from 2023 to 2025, arguing the practice was contrary to state law.

He seeks $5 million, which is the maximum amount for the infraction allowed by Florida law.

In a video posted to social media, Uthmeier said the practice began in July 2023, after Democratic Mayor Donna Deegan was sworn in.

“City management approved and implemented a logbook, a gun registry, that required security officers to screen visitors and record the visitor’s name, age, state-issued ID number, and the weapon type of anyone found to be carrying a firearm,” Uthmeier said.

“Jacksonville continued this practice until April 2025, when an individual attempted to enter a city building while legally carrying a firearm. The individual was unlawfully denied entry by security officers on duty when he would not provide the requested information.”

The relevant law, Florida Statutes 790.335, bans registries under threat of criminal and civil penalties, including potential “felony of the third degree” charges and “a fine of not more than $5 million” via a civil action from the Attorney General.

Uthmeier has been hinting at imminent action for several months, and has been willing to challenge members of his own party in the process.

Earlier this year, he took issue with local State Attorney Melissa Nelson for missing the mark in her own report on the controversy, which absolved the administration of legal responsibility.

“Ignorance of the law is no defense,” he said in January, responding to Nelson’s Office attributing the practice to “poor communication and a lack of legal review” rather than “deliberate misconduct.”

But even Nelson’s Office acknowledged Uthmeier’s “authority to evaluate potential civil remedies.” Uthmeier can’t pursue the felony charges, but he can try to exact a financial penalty.

Gov. Ron DeSantis and others have pilloried the gun registry as a violation of constitutional rights by the Deegan administration. The “Check Points and Perimeter Security” memo was drafted June 30, 2023, during the transition between the outgoing Lenny Curry administration and Deegan’s incoming group. It was revised in July after Deegan was sworn in.

State Attorney Nelson’s Office noted that the city “stopped the practice immediately once it was discovered,” but not before “more than 140 entries recording the names, birthdates, ID numbers, and firearm types of over 100 individuals” were memorialized.

Contacted Tuesday, the Deegan administration said it had yet to receive the lawsuit and reserved comment.