Midwest teacher, 37, is arrested for CLAPPING at data centers meeting

A Midwest teacher was arrested by police and carried out of a public meeting about a controversial data center proposal after applauding a speaker. 

Emporia High School physics teacher Lux Claridge, 37, was removed from a Kansas, Emporia, City Commission meeting last Wednesday after clapping in support of a speaker who had just delivered remarks against the data center.

After Claridge clapped, police were asked to please remove the next person ‘that claps or anything’ from the room.

That prompted Claridge, who remained seated, to insist that he had a right to speak and clap.

‘Drag me out,’ he appeared to tell officers, according to a Commission meeting recording.

As Claridge was removed from the room, the next scheduled speaker began getting emotional and revealed that she was his significant other.

‘Sorry, that’s my spouse down there,’ she said, seemingly erupting into tears and gasping for air.

She asked the officials to not hurt Claridge as the crowd loudly asked the police to ‘let him stay’ and the meeting broke after devolving into chaos.

Lux Claridge, a 37-year-old physics teacher, was arrested and removed from an an Emporia City Commission meeting last Wednesday after clapping against data centers

According to the Emporia Police Department, officers physically removed Claridge from the room as he ‘did not comply with law enforcement’s efforts to remove him from the premises’

Claridge, who said he was a ‘little banged up’ after being arrested, said that his stance was ‘all about making sure our voices are heard’

The distressed woman was later identified as Jessica Danford, according to KWCH.

‘Seeing [Claridge] carried out like that was a lot to handle,’ Danford told the outlet.

Claridge was booked into the Lyon County Jail on charges of interference with law enforcement and disorderly conduct, the Emporia Police Department said.

Emporia police claimed that officers had to carry Claridge out of the incendiary meeting because he ‘did not comply with law enforcement’s efforts to remove him from the premises.’

The department added that it ‘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.’

Commissioners had had warned those attending the meeting to not disrupt by clapping, snapping or making rude comments.

Claridge has pushed back on law enforcement’s claims and explained the sequence from his perspective.

‘I don’t think I was really disrupting anything because it was that period of transition, but after so many final warnings, they finally decided to kick me out,’ Claridge told the Lyon County Observer.

Claridge added that he was ‘a little banged up’ after the incident in which he was carried out by police.

He said he went into the jail around noon and left shortly before 8pm after being bonded out.

‘I’m so sorry that two claps was too much for them,’ Claridge said. ‘This is all about making sure our voices are heard and that’s my stance.’

While sitting down and after being warned, Claridge insisted that he had a right to speak and clap, and seemed to tell officers to ‘drag me out’ if they wanted him gone

A pH๏τo posted by Claridge’s younger brother, Daniel, after he was bonded out. The angry brother blasted the charges Claridge was arrested for as ‘unlawful and egregious’

In a Facebook post, Claridge thanked his community for raising the bail money to get him out of jail.

‘I was going to ask my wife not to give any money to these…people,’ he wrote. ‘But yall raised the funds before I could call her.’

The Kansas teacher added that he was not ‘down and out’ and vowed to return to his activism as soon as possible.

When he was arrested on Wednesday, Claridge was specifically protesting the Flint Hills Digital Campus proposal. 

The proposal for the ‘gigawatt-scale’ data center has been discussed for about eight months, according to WIBW. 

‘I think the gloves are off after HOURS of speeches in opposition and still a unanimous vote in favor,’ Claridge posted. ‘I’m ready to clap extra hard, once the wrist heals.’

Claridge’s younger brother, David, said Thursday on Facebook that the charges his sibling was arrested for were ‘unlawful and egregious.’

‘I was seated directly in front of them and could not even hear the applause,’ David wrote.

While Claridge was being removed, the next speaker became emotional. She revealed that he was her spouse, as she asked law enforcement to not hurt Claridge

Claridge’s brother, a Democrat attempting to be elected on the Kansas House of Representatives, added: ‘I believe this arrest represents an unjustified infringement on free expression.’ 

He alleged that the incident reflected ‘the kind of authoritarian behavior that undermines public trust in local government.’

The post was accompanied by a smiling pH๏τo of the two brothers right outside of the Lyon County Law Enforcement Center on Mechanic Street.

Claridge flashed a hang loose sign to the camera, while his younger sibling leaned in and offered a thumbs up.

The Emporia Police Department told the Daily Mail on Tuesday morning that that there had been no pertinent updates related to Claridge’s arrest since it happened last week.

The Daily Mail has reached out to Claridge for comment.