A Kansas high school teacher was arrested at a heated city zoning meeting after repeatedly clapping to show opposition to a proposed data center project.
Lux Claridge was pulled from a chair by three police officers and carried out of the Emporia City Commission meeting on July 22 after allegedly ignoring Mayor Becky Smith’s instructions about applause during debate over the controversial Flint Hills Digital Campus data center planned for Emporia, Kansas, according to Emporia Police.
Police said several people attending the meeting had received verbal warnings from the City Commission about conduct officials described as disruptive to the proceedings.
Claridge, a 37-year-old physics teacher at Emporia High School, was one of roughly a dozen residents in the audience who voiced opposition to the proposal, KWCH reported.
The 1,000-acre, gigawatt-scale project drew sharp criticism from multiple speakers, whose comments prompted applause from supporters in the room. At one point, an official urged the audience to stop clapping, calling it “rude and disruptive.”
After another woman finished speaking, several attendees responded with silent “jazz hands” instead of applause. Claridge, however, clapped about five times, leading Mayor Becky Smith to call for police intervention.
Officers then surrounded Claridge, who had been seated and waiting for a chance to address the commission, and directed the teacher to leave the room.
“Hi, I’d like to speak,” Claridge told the officers.
“I have a right to clap,” Claridge can be heard saying, before telling officers to “drag me out” of the meeting.
Claridge resisted detainment, forcing the officers to carry the clapper out as the teacher’s stunned wife fought back tears at the podium.
“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,” Emporia police said.
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Claridge was arrested and booked into the Lyon County Jail on charges of interference with law enforcement and disorderly conduct.
Claridge spoke out against the city commission for silencing opponents to the data center after being released from jail on bail,
“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,” Claridge said, according to KWCH.
Claridge’s family was looking into legal options against city hall, claiming that the arrest “represents an unjustified infringement on free expression.”
“Although the stated charges are disorderly conduct and interruption of a government meeting, I find those allegations unlawful and egregious. I was seated directly in front of them and could not even hear the applause,” Claridge’s brother, David Claridge, wrote on Facebook.
“I believe this arrest represents an unjustified infringement on free expression. Lux is a member of our community, a constituent, and a high school teacher,” the younger brother said.
“In my view, this incident reflects the kind of authoritarian behavior that undermines public trust in local government. As a first amendment absolutist, I cannot abide by the actions of the commission.
“This isn’t going to hold up in court. Lux is going to fight them on that. I’m looking at avenues to get these people recalled. This is insane to me,” David Claridge later told KWCH.
Other Emporia residents were left in shock and fear from speaking out against the massive tech project planned to be completed by the middle of 2029.
“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,” an unidentified community member said. “I think we’re all in a state of fear because of what this government’s doing to us.”
The City Commission passed the proposal for the project, allowing the next stage to proceed in development, according to KVOE.
Police maintained Claridge was innocent until proven guilty but stood by the officer’s actions to obey city officials and remove the educator from the meeting.
“The Emporia Police 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,” the department said.
