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VerifiedPublic Meeting Removal

North Carolina Parent Arrested for Trespassing at Buncombe County School Board Meeting

Aug 12, 2021Asheville, NCSubmitted by Staff
Summary

On August 12, 2021, Jason Aldag was arrested for second-degree trespass at a Buncombe County (NC) Board of Education meeting after refusing to wear a mask during public comment on the district's mask mandate.

Full report

Aldag entered the boardroom without a mask to speak against the district's COVID-19 mask requirement. Board chair Ann Franklin ordered him to leave; when he refused, Buncombe County sheriff's deputies escorted him out and arrested him for second-degree trespass. The arrest was captured on the meeting livestream. Aldag was released the same day. The case was later dismissed. Aldag alleged the removal was viewpoint-based since supporters of the mandate were allowed to speak; no civil suit was filed.

Tags
#school-board#arrest#north-carolina#masks#covid-19#trespass#public-comment

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