The Orange County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday, April 11, to alter some of its procedural rules, but many argued the change wasn’t enough – leading to a tense incident in which one man flaunted the board’s public speaking policies, causing the room to be cleared temporarily until he was escorted out by sheriff’s deputies.
Tensions arose in part over a board’s decision last year to limit opportunities for the public to speak at its meeting, a move that some have decried as a violation of free speech laws.
In recent years, the public could speak three times per meeting for up to three minutes each time.