‘Drag me out’: A Kansas teacher was carried out of a public meeting by several officers after refusing to stop clapping

A Kansas physics teacher was hauled out of a city commission meeting in handcuffs after refusing to stop clapping, in a case that has drawn national attention to how far local governments can go in policing audience behavior.

According to the New York Post, Lux Claridge, 37, was removed from the Emporia City Commission meeting on July 22 after applauding residents who spoke out against the Flint Hills Digital Campus, a proposed 1,000-acre, gigawatt-scale data center. Claridge teaches physics at Emporia High School.

Commissioners had warned the audience earlier in the meeting that clapping, snapping, and other disruptive behavior would not be tolerated. According to Yahoo News, Commissioner Monica Duncan told attendees, “It was very clear at the beginning that each person is given their two minutes, and we’re trying to be respectful of that. Snapping, clapping, any other rude comments or anything, we will ask you to leave.”

Claridge told officers to ‘drag me out,’ and they did

Claridge clapped several times as one opponent of the project finished speaking. Mayor Becky Smith responded by directing officers to step in. He was seated at the time, waiting for his own turn at the microphone, when several officers moved in and told him he needed to go. “Hi, I’d like to speak,” Claridge told them, before adding, “I have a right to clap,” and then telling the officers to “drag me out.”

Claridge resisted being removed, and police ultimately carried him out of the chamber. His wife, Jessica Danford, was present and later told KWCH, “Seeing them carried out like that was a lot to handle.” Emporia police later said in a statement that “Claridge did not comply with law enforcement’s efforts to remove him from the premises, requiring officers to physically carry him out of the meeting.”

He was booked into the Lyon County Jail on charges of interference with law enforcement and disorderly conduct before being released on bail. Speaking afterward, Claridge said, “I’m glad to be out, but this is an inconvenience, really. It’s not really deterring me from speaking out, or I guess, clapping.”

His brother, David Claridge, has since spoken out against the arrest on Facebook, calling it “an unjustified infringement on free expression” and adding that he was seated close enough to the commission that he “could not even hear the applause.” He later said the family plans to fight the charges in court. A similar case in Oklahoma also ended in an arrest over a data center dispute.

Other attendees at the meeting voiced similar concerns afterward. One unidentified community member told reporters, “We are citizens of this community, we have a right to do our constitutionally protected activities, which is exactly what they’re violating at this time as well.” That same person added, “I think we’re all in a state of fear because of what this government’s doing to us.”

Emporia police have defended the officers’ conduct, saying in a statement that the department “remains committed to ensuring public meetings are conducted safely and in an orderly manner, while also respecting the rights of all citizens to participate in the civic process.”

According to KVOE, the City Commission unanimously approved the zoning measures needed to advance the project during that same meeting, though officials there stressed the vote did not amount to final approval of the data center itself, with additional hearings still required before construction could begin.

Claridge has not entered a plea, and the case remains pending.