UPDATE: Two of the men involved in the altercation at the Oklahoma State Board of Education meeting on June 22 are charged with several misdemeanors.
Moore and Scott are charged with obstructing or impeding passage within a State building.
Scott also faces a charge of willfully disturbing, interfering with or disrupting State business.
Moore is charged with two counts of assault and battery.
No charges have been filed against the third man, Sean Cummings, who was accused of being disorderly.
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Oklahoma State Board of Education meetings have been drawing big crows lately—largely in both strong opposition and support over actions and behavior of State Superintendent Ryan Walters.
It was just ahead of the June 22 meeting when Tulsa mom Ashley Daly said she witnessed a teacher, also from Tulsa, being assaulted.
Daly goes to the meetings every month and gets there an hour and a half early to guarantee she will have a turn to speak.
“There are a lot of passionate people trying to get in the door,” Daly said.
The meeting room has limited space and only the first three non-agenda item speakers are guaranteed time to talk. Daly says she was confronted by Leonard Scott who told her he was trying to create order by passing out number cards.
“He was handing out numbers to people like we were in line at a bakery, he’s not in charge, he’s not involved with the State Department of Education,” said Daly. “He was absolutely trying to control who got in.”
Daly says she was standing next to a Tulsa teacher who was then confronted by Edwards Moore.
“He grabbed her arm and was holding her and pushing her back and yelled, ‘you don’t have a number, you don’t get in,” she recalled. “She looked terrified. I felt really scared. No one should be touching each other at these meetings.”
According to probable cause affidavits filed in Oklahoma County court Thursday, both Moore and Scott tried to block people from entering the meeting. In a separate incident that day that Daly didn’t see, there was another alleged altercation involving Moore aggressively pushing a Department of Public Safety Security Officer. A third man, Sean Cummings, is accused of being disorderly after he was blocked by the men from entering.
The men could face charges ranging from disturbing state business, obstructing passage to a state building and incitement to riot.
Daly thinks there is a solution to the uptick in stressful situation ahead of the meetings.
“Moving to a bigger location would probably be ideal and safer,” she said.
She also thinks less divisive language from Superintendent Walters could help tone the meetings down. “I think Superintendent Walters speaks with violent language and I think that begets violent behavior.”
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