City That Arrested Person for Clapping at Data Center Meeting Moves to Virtual Meetings for 'Public Safety'
A small town in Kansas took its city meetings virtual and ended public comment after city leaders received a wave of death threats.
Emporia, Kansas, a small town, recently suspended its public comment period at city council meetings due to concerns about public safety. This decision comes after an individual named Lux Claridge was arrested for clapping during a meeting concerning a proposed data center called the Flint Hills Digital Campus. The city announced on social media that its upcoming meetings on August 5 and 19, 2026, would be held virtually, with no public comment period.
The police chief cited death threats received by city officials as the reason for the virtual meetings. Claridge, who attended a protest following the arrest, expressed mixed feelings about the virtual meetings, stating that while they made sense, the decision to close public comment was more concerning. The decision to send the petition to a judge for review has also been met with mixed reactions, with some citizens upset about the lack of a public comment period.
The city's mayor and commissioners have not yet published the agenda for the next virtual meeting scheduled for August 19.
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