Unmasked man refuses to leave city meeting and asks to be arrested, Arkansas cops say

A recent city council meeting in Fayetteville, Arkansas was derailed after an unmasked man refused to leave and was removed by police.

James Smith, 40, was arrested Tuesday evening on a charge of criminal trespassing, KNWA reported. Smith, a Prairie Grove resident, was repeatedly told to put on a mask if he wanted to remain at the meeting, but declined to do so.

Smith attended the meeting with several other maskless individuals, despite a Fayetteville ordinance requiring masks to be worn in city buildings, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported. Mayor Lioneld Jordon asked the group to leave, after the city clerk raised concerns about catching COVID-19 and bringing it home to her young kids.

Others also asked the mayor why the mask rule wasn’t being enforced, and Jordon said the maskless attendees shouldn’t have been allowed inside, according to KFSM.

Police Chief Mike Reynolds said he had told the group that they were supposed to wear masks, but they said they wouldn’t leave unless ticketed — insisting that the mayor would not back up the city’s mask ordinance.

But after the mayor told them to leave, the group filed out, except for Smith — who apparently intended to challenge the city on its mask rule, the Democrat-Gazette reported. Smith told the mayor that, for all practical purposes, the city of Fayetteville doesn’t have a mask mandate because it isn’t enforced.

Reynolds told Smith to leave, KFSM reported.

“Then arrest me,” Smith told Reynolds.

“I’m not going to arrest you,” Reynolds said.

“I’m not leaving unless you enforce your ordinance,” Smith said.

Police led Smith out of city hall in handcuffs and he was booked into the Washington County Detention Center, KNWA reported. He bonded out the same night and is due in court on Oct. 7.

Masks were not up for discussion at the city meeting, according to the Democrat-Gazette, but there was an item on the agenda that would require weekly COVID-19 testing for city workers unless they could provide a vaccine card.

This story was originally published September 8, 2021 at 1:17 PM with the headline "Unmasked man refuses to leave city meeting and asks to be arrested, Arkansas cops say."