Troutman Police Chief Josh Watson is pulling his officers from off-duty security duty at Iredell-Statesville Schools board meetings starting Oct. 26, saying his department will no longer put officers in the position of removing speakers from public comment without clear legal justification. The decision follows an Oct. 12 meeting in which board Chairman Doug Knight directed officers to escort out a man reading sexually explicit passages from a library book during public comment.
Watson told the Charlotte Observer that the Oct. 12 incident was the latest in a series of confrontations raising concerns about law enforcement's role at board meetings. He described the board as contentious for several years and said officers should not be placed in the middle of its disputes. Watson said people at public meetings have the right to speak, protest government and seek redress, and he believes no law violation justified removing the speaker that night.
What Happened at the Oct. 12 Meeting
The speaker was conservative pastor and activist John Amanchukwu, who discussed Push, a novel by Sapphire, during public comment, saying the book was available at Lake Norman High School. When Knight warned him against using sexually explicit language and suggested he use initials or omit words, Amanchukwu responded, “That's censorship. I haven't even read a word.” He then read passages describing sexual abuse.
Knight declared him out of order, repeatedly interrupted him and warned he could be removed, and the two disputed whether his allotted speaking time had expired before Knight directed officers to escort him out. According to the Observer's reporting, the two Troutman officers present did not physically remove Amanchukwu. Instead, they stood nearby until he left voluntarily, then accompanied him out. The officers raised their concerns with Watson the day after the meeting.
Amanchukwu has built a national profile confronting school boards over library content; according to The Washington Times, videos of his public comment appearances have drawn more than 300 million views. He was previously escorted out by law enforcement at a 2024 Midland, Texas, school board meeting and challenged library holdings before the Hillsborough County School Board in Florida in September, according to The Western Journal. Hoodline previously reported on his appearance before the Hillsborough school board demanding the removal of books he considered sexually explicit. Following the Oct. 12 meeting, Push was pulled from the Lake Norman High School library collection, according to The Gateway Pundit.
A Pattern of Police Being Called Into Board Disputes
This was not the first time Knight had asked officers to remove someone from a meeting. During a June 24 special meeting, Knight ordered the removal of board member Anita Kurn after she continued speaking following a ruling that she was out of order, issuing multiple warnings before requesting her removal, Iredell Free News reported. Two other board members walked out after the removal order, and the board lost quorum and had to adjourn.
In January 2024, the Troutman Police Department opened an investigation after a Moms for Liberty member read sexually explicit book passages during an Iredell-Statesville board meeting, the outlet noted, showing that public comment content had already drawn police involvement in the town years before the October incident.
Watson Consulted Attorneys Before Sending a Letter
Watson said officers faced difficulty assessing constitutional protections in the middle of heated exchanges. He met with Knight, Superintendent Jeff James and another board member to discuss officers enforcing meeting rules, and consulted attorneys and people at the UNC School of Government about the legal boundaries of public comment before sending a letter to district leadership the week before his decision was made public.
In that letter, Watson wrote that a presiding officer's request alone does not establish legal grounds for removal, detention or arrest. That framing tracks guidance on public meeting law: under North Carolina General Statute 115C-51, local boards are required to hold at least one public comment period a month during a regular meeting, though boards retain authority to set reasonable procedural rules for speaker conduct, according to the UNC School of Government.
A North Carolina Court of Appeals ruling last November reinforced that limit. In State v. Barthel, the court held that public officials and law enforcement cannot eject or arrest meeting attendees for crude or offensive speech unless the person causes an actual physical disruption, overturning criminal convictions against an attendee who had displayed a vulgar sign at a county commissioners meeting, according to Justia Law. A federal case out of Florida carried a steeper price tag: Brevard County Public Schools settled a First Amendment lawsuit for more than $567,000 last October after the 11th Circuit ruled that school boards cannot censor speakers for reading sexually explicit passages aloud from school library books, per the Institute for Free Speech.
Board Already Facing Internal Strain
The October confrontation landed on a board already strained by internal conflict. The Iredell County Republican Party sued the Iredell-Statesville board in June after Knight and a deadlocked 3-3 board repeatedly refused to seat GOP nominee Matthew Youngblood to fill a vacant District 2 seat, a vacancy that arose after board member Kevin Angell resigned following a January confrontation, Iredell Free News reported. The board also voted 5-2 in September to adopt a redistricting plan for the new Weathers Creek High School, reallocating hundreds of students away from Lake Norman High School despite significant parent pushback, contributing to heavier attendance and a tenser atmosphere at recent meetings.
Troutman police will continue responding to law enforcement assistance calls at board meetings within the town's jurisdiction, and officers may still work approved off-duty assignments at school sporting events and other school activities. Watson said he could reconsider ending board meeting security assignments if board members demonstrate an understanding of the legal limits on restricting public comment. The board holds its regular meetings at the Career Academy and Technical School in Troutman. The Observer said it contacted the school district and Knight for comment.
Watson said he believes officers were asked to remove the speaker without sufficient legal grounds, potentially interfering with constitutional rights. “People should be able to address their representatives without fearing removal by law enforcement,” he said.
