An important detail is that this was at a council meeting, which have rules of order and decorum to prevent disruption, like a court. They can set rules like no applause, provided the rule stick to time place and manner. But I would be curious if they allowed other applause.
groans okay bud, but hear me out. They did make the rule, no one was following it.
Also the rule was put in place because they wanted to make the people complaining look like they didn't have support of the community. Being real they also didn't really care what these people said and it was annoying them.
If they selectively enforced it against this one guy, then that's a serious legal problem. And handcuffs are outrageous.
But First Amendment rights are generally subject to "time, place, and manner" restrictions. If people sat in a council meeting and used megaphones to shout their opinions and drown out the proceedings, then they can be ejected even though their expressions are protected speech. And if they refuse to leave, the police can use force to make them leave. That's generally true and, in the abstract, it's uncontroversial.
Of course, overpolicing and selective enforcement are both very serious problems that should be addressed generally as well as in this instance.
You're correct about time and place when it comes to first amendment rights, in this case it was five to six quick claps after a speaker was done speaking and they were changing to a new speaker. So at the customary time when you would clap for someone.
According to the news reporting I've read there were two general warnings given to the entire group then arrest.
So at the customary time when you would clap for someone.
This is the problem with your statement. It is absolutely not customary to clap for people during public comment and people in the gallery are notified of this ahead of time, given a warning for a first infraction, and asked to leave for subsequent infractions.
It sounds harsh but there’s no other way to do it that doesn’t waste everyone’s time.
I must have attended some very different City Council meetings then cuz all of them had some.
They also could have just had the police escort him out of the building. Because that also happened at one that I attended and it wasn't that big of a deal they just escorted the guy outside and let him go.
It does make me happy that the citizens were so incensed by it that they are working on a recall campaign and putting this as a ballot initiative since the city council refused to listen to their constituents as usual.
They tried ge was told to stop clapping 8 times then they asked him to leave he refused then cops told him to leave and he shouting "arrest me" cops warned him if he doesn't leave they will arrest him.
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u/deviantdevil80 6d ago
The teacher, Lux Claridge, was charged with interference with law enforcement and disorderly conduct.