A Virginia man who was arrested after refusing to leave a school board meeting that was discussing a controversial 'critical race theory' curriculum alongside proposals for a new contentious transgender policy has said the meeting was being run by a 'tyrant'.
Loudoun County resident, John Tigges, was put in handcuffs by county police for refusing to leave the meeting on Tuesday after the Loudoun County School Board cut off public comment while the residents debated the issue.
County residents arrived early to pack the auditorium as 259 residents signed up to speak during the public comment session before the debates became so heated that at least two men were eventually arrested for refusing to leave the building. The men were protesting the policy.
John Tigges who was arrested after refusing to leave a school board meeting that was discussing a controversial 'critical race theory' curriculum alongside proposals for a new contentious transgender policy has spoken out about his experience
Jon Tigges is detained following a controversial Loudoun County School Board meeting which included discussion of Critical Race Theory
Tigges was assigned to give comments in front of parents and community members who were present.
Community members lined up to peacefully share their sentiments when the meeting was 'suddenly' declared an unlawful assembly and police officers came in, threatening arrest.
'I was in a place where free speech has to happen,' Tigges said. 'If you want to redress your grievances about a school board, there's no other place you can do it than in a school board meeting.
''Every single person there, all 500 parents, had their First Amendment rights trampled on by the Loudoun County school board and its superintendent,' he continued.
Tigges was assigned to give comments in front of parents and community members who were present but was arrested after being told the meeting was an 'unlawful assembly'
Tigges was one of two men who were eventually arrested for refusing to leave the building
A Sheriff can be seen confronting John Tigges after he refused to leave the meeting
Tigges was placed in handcuffs after refusing to cooperate and marched out of the room
A man is detained after a fight broke out during a Loudoun County School Board meeting which included a discussion of Critical Race Theory and transgender students
A man is detained after a fight broke out during a Loudoun County School Board meeting which included a discussion of Critical Race Theory and transgender students
A man is detained after a fight broke out during a Loudoun County School Board meeting which included a discussion of Critical Race Theory and transgender students
The parents were debating a draft of the proposed 8040 policy on restrooms that reads that 'students should be allowed to use the facility that corresponds to their gender identity,' as school district leaders say they are moving to make schools more inclusive for transgender students - something that is considered by some parents as challenging traditional religious beliefs.
The comments went smoothly through the first half-dozen speakers who supported the 8040 proposal until the seventh speaker was booed for insulting Christian parents in the district who oppose the policy.
'What stood out to me the most is just how easily we've given up our rights and how easily we've retreated over the last 50 years. As I was standing there in the front of the room and realizing that people felt like they had no options after the school board,' Tigges explained.
'That's what I felt. It's like we can't take another defeat if we walk out of here based on some tyrant declaring that a lawful assembling was, 'unlawful', we're going to lose again and that it was time to stand our ground and that we weren't going to leave there unless people had an opportunity to do what they'd come to do, which was to air their grievances to public officials and hope that they would listen.
'The reality is clear. They don't want to listen. They're not listening. And that our only option is that we, the people take back our country,' Tigges said to Fox News.
Shelley Slebrch and other angry parents and community members protest after a Loudoun County School Board meeting was halted by the school board because the crowd refused to quiet down, in Ashburn, Virginia
Angry community members and parents sing the Star Spangled Banner after a Loudoun County School Board meeting was halted by the school board because the crowd refused to quiet down, in Ashburn, Virginia
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A woman, who identified herself as the mother of a transgender Loudoun student, had said that 'hate' was 'dripping from the followers of Jesus in this room' - which promoted the board to call a five-minute recess for parents to cool down.
Brenda Sheridan, the board chair, warned residents after the recess that members of the board had voted unanimously to end public comment if the room again became disruptive.
'The board is here to hear from everyone,' she said.
'We started our meeting early because we knew we would have a large crowd and we had a large agenda. We ask again that you respect each other, and everyone is allowed to speak.'
Parents in the audience were also protesting recent moves by the board to promote critical race theory, which they said was racist indoctrination.
Over the past year, numerous public and private schools across the US have opted to incorporate CRT into their teachings - sparking a nationwide debate in which Loudoun County has emerged as a flashpoint.
