ROANOKE, Va. – Two people are defending their actions following a heated ending to a Roanoke County School Board meeting.
The meeting consisted of policies, both of which enraged supporters of transgender students.
While going over the new transgender student model policies from the Virginia Department of Education, Chairman Brent Hudson had to repeatedly ask the audience to be respectful.
Not everyone was cooperative when asked to leave. 37-year-old Shannon “Dan” Clawson and 39-year-old Ben James were arrested and charged with trespassing.
“They kicked people out of the room. It seemed completely unnecessary and arresting people certainly seemed completely unnecessary,” James said.
Just after the first person was taken away in cuffs, James had an encounter with Chairman Hudson.
“I was asking him questions … to the school board chairman and he decided to tell me he was a law enforcement officer and that I needed to leave,” James said.
Hudson is employed with the Roanoke County Sheriff’s Office and said in a statement that he thought James’ actions were threatening in nature.
10 News reached out to Roanoke County’s Commonwealth Attorney, Brian Holohon, who said there is nothing in the Virginia State Code that prohibits a law enforcement officer from displaying his or her badge even while off duty.
Read more about the meeting by clicking here.