Arrest warrants issued over conflict at Oklahoma State Board of Education meeting

Two men have been charged with misdemeanors over their alleged roles in a tense scene of shoving and shouting as a crowd entered a June 22 meeting of the Oklahoma State Board of Education.

Edwards R. Moore Jr. and Leonard B. Scott III, both of Edmond, attempted to block the entrance to the public meeting, according to an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper's report of the incident.

An Oklahoma County special judge issued warrants for their arrest Monday with a $500 bond.

State Board of Education meetings have become a jam-packed arena of political conflict since state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters took office this year. Tensions between attendees boiled over at the monthly meeting in June at the Oliver Hodge building, home to the Oklahoma State Department of Education.

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Scott, 75, passed out numbers in an effort to regulate access to the meeting room, the trooper reported. Scott is not part of Education Department staff, and the trooper informed the crowd the numbers “do not mean anything,” according to the report.

When questioned about the numbers, Scott told the trooper he thought it would “create order so people don’t get trampled like last month,” court documents state.

A woman reported Moore, 78, grabbed her and told her she couldn’t enter because she didn’t have a number. Security footage showed another man intervened, and Moore aggressively pushed him, according to court records.

Moore and Scott were charged Friday with obstructing or impeding passage within a state building. Moore also faces two counts of misdemeanor assault and battery. Scott was charged with an additional misdemeanor count of willfully disturbing, interfering with or disrupting state business.

Moore did not return a request for comment. Scott couldn’t be reached.

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Increased crowds at Oklahoma State Board of Education meetings since Ryan Walters took office

State Board of Education meetings have become increasingly crowded and strained since Walters' tenure began in January. Dozens of attendees regularly fill the small meeting room and create an overflow crowd in the adjoining hallway.

The public comment portion of the agenda often continues for more than an hour, as supporters of Walters urge the superintendent to fight “indoctrination” in schools while others express outrage at his far right-wing rhetoric.

Some repeatedly called for the state agency to move the board meetings to a larger space to accommodate more attendees.

The state Education Department didn’t immediately return a request for comment on whether it would consider a change of location, nor did it respond when asked about Moore's and Scott’s charges.

Reporter Nuria Martinez-Keel covers K-12 and higher education throughout the state of Oklahoma. Have a story idea for Nuria? She can be reached at nmartinez-keel@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @NuriaMKeel. Support Nuria’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: 2 charged after conflict at Oklahoma State Board of Education meeting