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By Joshua Rhett Miller
Senior Reporter
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A Kansas teacher says he won't be silenced following his arrest for allegedly disrupting a public hearing on a proposed data center.
Lux Claridge, a physics teacher at Emporia High School, and several other attendees at an Emporia City Commission hearing on July 22 were issued verbal warnings by commissioners regarding disruptive conduct, including clapping, prior to his arrest, police said.
But Claridge allegedly continued to interrupt the meeting and refused to leave as he clapped in support of speakers opposing the planned Flint Hills Digital Campus data center.
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"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 in a statement last week.
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Claridge was later taken into custody to the Lyon County Jail on charges of interference with law enforcement and disorderly conduct, police said. The Emporia resident was later released after posting bail, KWCH in Hutchinson, Kansas, reported.
"I’m glad to be out, but this is an inconvenience, really," Claridge told the station. "It's not really deterring me from speaking out or, I guess, clapping."
Claridge, who is scheduled to appear in court in September, said he plans to plead not guilty.
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"It just feels good to finally get to go home," the physics teacher told KWCH last week.
Claridge, who opposes the planned data center, attended the hearing as the city passed zoning changes for the project along with his wife, Jessica Danford. Footage from the meeting shows Claridge telling an officer to "drag me out" prior to the arrest.
"Seeing them carried out like that really was a lot to handle," Danford told the station.
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Caleb Rankin, Claridge's friend, said he was shocked to learn of the arrest.
"Out of all the people that I knew, them getting arrested is—I thought someone used a different name or something," Rankin told KWCH.
Claridge's brother said he believes the charges will eventually be tossed.
"This isn’t going to hold up in court," David Claridge told the station. "Lux is going to fight them on that. I’m looking at avenues to get these people recalled. This is insane to me."
Claridge's arrest comes amid rapid expansion of data centers and AI facilities, which has prompted intense opposition in some circles that has occasionally turned violent, including an attack at the San Francisco home of OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman in April. Calls for data center moratoriums have also surged across the country as communities discern long-term impacts, while labor union embrace their rapid construction.
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Another resident who attended the July 22 meeting said they were concerned about their First Amendment rights following Claridge's arrest, KWCH reported.
"We are citizens of this community," the unidentified attendee told the station. "We have a right to do our constitutionally protected activities, which is exactly what they’re violating at this time as well. I think we're all in a state of fear because of what this government's doing to us."
Emporia officials referred all inquiries about the July 22 meeting to police, KWCH reported.
"As with all criminal charges, Claridge is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law," police said in a statement. "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."
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Jason Lemon and Dave Siminoff.
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