ST JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – Court documents are revealing new details about an alleged attack on a State House candidate at a St. Johns County polling place this week.
Dr. Diana Jordan-Baldwin, who is challenging incumbent state Rep. Kim Kendall in the Republican primary for House District 18, was at the World Golf Village early voting site when the confrontation occurred.
Charles Edward Hunt, 55, of Saint Augustine, was arrested at the scene. He faces two counts of simple battery, according to the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office arrest report.
How it started
Jordan-Baldwin told News4JAX she arrived at the polling site around 6 a.m. to set up a campaign tent and check on volunteers. Walking back to her car, she said she encountered Hunt, who was already visibly agitated after a code enforcement officer had asked campaigns to take down their tents.
“I said, sir, I’m moving my car. You can go there,” Jordan-Baldwin told News4JAX. “But he had his windows rolled up and he was just mouth — you could see him talking.”
Jordan-Baldwin told News4JAX that Hunt then rolled his windows down and began shouting obscenities. She said she had gotten into her car at that point, but when Hunt got out of his truck and approached, she got back out — not wanting to be trapped inside her vehicle.
‘You don’t know his service’
That’s when the confrontation took a deeply personal turn. Jordan-Baldwin told News4JAX Hunt targeted her late husband’s military service.
“He said, ‘Lying (expletive), your late husband was not killed in the line of duty. Where did he die at?’” Jordan-Baldwin recalled. “I just got so emotional because I could not believe that he was attacking someone that he didn’t even know.”
Jordan-Baldwin said she pushed back directly.
“I told him, ‘Don’t you dare speak about him. Sergeant First Class Christopher Dante Burks was a good man. He served his country, and a lot of us have freedom because of us — the ones who fought and for the ones that gave their life,’” she said.
Husband steps in, punches thrown
Jordan-Baldwin said her current husband stepped between her and Hunt to try to defuse the situation.
“He reached around him and he punched me in my left side of my face,” Jordan-Baldwin said. “And so my husband was like, ‘No, you’re not gonna hit my wife.’”
According to the SJSO incident report, deputies documented a reddened mark on Jordan-Baldwin’s left cheek and a scuff on her right knee consistent with being pushed to the ground. Her husband sustained a knot on the left side of his head just above his ear. All injuries were photographed as evidence, the report states.
Witnesses corroborate the account
According to the SJSO incident report, three independent witnesses were identified and interviewed — all providing consistent accounts that Hunt was the aggressor. A poll security worker told deputies she witnessed Hunt swinging with balled fists. Two witnesses, who were approximately 90 to 100 feet away, told deputies they watched Hunt punch Jordan-Baldwin with a closed fist, push her to the ground and then strike her husband when he stepped in, the report states.
Jordan-Baldwin told News4JAX that bystanders stepped in to separate the parties and that witnesses photographed Hunt’s license plate as he attempted to leave.
“That’s how we were able to give that to the police officers,” she said.
The SJSO incident report adds that Hunt and Jordan-Baldwin had exchanged words the day before, on Aug. 10, 2026, over the same area where Hunt had previously set up equipment — a detail provided by a poll security guard.
Hunt tells a different story
According to the SJSO incident report, deputies located Hunt near the scene sitting on the tailgate of his truck. Hunt admitted to yelling at Jordan-Baldwin but claimed she had walked between his moving vehicle and another car, causing him to brake suddenly. Hunt said all he did was start yelling, “Are you stupid or something?”, before the argument started.
He told deputies her husband grabbed him by the throat and that he heard [redacted] say she was reaching for a firearm. He said he did not remember striking either victim.
The arrest report states Hunt was read his Miranda rights, waived them and agreed to speak with deputies, at which point he confirmed those details and claimed self-defense. Deputies noted his account was inconsistent with the statements of both victims and all three witnesses, and that Hunt showed no visible injuries consistent with his version of events, according to the incident report.
Arrest, booking, bond
According to the SJSO arrest report, Hunt was booked into the St. Johns County Jail just after 11:30 a.m. Bond was set at $1,000 per charge, for a total of $2,000. Booking records identify Hunt as a retired military veteran.
Incumbent responds
Incumbent Rep. Kim Kendall released a statement to News4JAX saying neither she nor her campaign staff were present at World Golf Village during the incident.
“I want to be absolutely clear: this is completely unacceptable. This is a horrible act, and we condemn such behavior,” Kendall said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Diana Jordan-Baldwin.”
‘There’s no reason to put your hands on someone’
Despite the ordeal, Jordan-Baldwin told News4JAX she hopes to one day forgive Hunt — but wanted to be clear about the broader message.
“I don’t understand the world we live in that it’s okay for you to just outright hit somebody,” she said. “There’s no reason to put your hands on someone else.”
She added: “I just ask God to show him himself, and I hope that he could truly be able to see what he did and how hurtful it was — how he could have hurt more people. He could’ve seriously hurt my husband and me. So that’s what I want to forgive.”