On July 27, 2026, Lux Claridge sat in an Emporia, Kansas city commission meeting and clapped. That's it. He clapped in support of his neighbors who were speaking against a proposed data center. For that, he was arrested, handcuffed, and taken to jail.

Claridge, a 37-year-old physics teacher at Emporia High School, was charged with interference with law enforcement after commissioners warned attendees that clapping was prohibited. When he continued to applaud, officers removed him from the room. His wife watched from her seat. After posting bail, he plans to plead not guilty.

Clapping is not a crime. It is one of the most fundamental forms of public expression, a way to say, without words, "I agree, I support you, I'm here." The First Amendment protects expressive conduct at public meetings, and courts have recognized that government bodies cannot silence audiences simply to insulate themselves from disagreement.

What happened in Emporia is about more than one teacher. As one community member put it after the arrest, "I think we're all in a state of fear because of what this government's doing to us." When a city commission can ban applause and send in police to enforce that silence, every resident who attends a public meeting faces the same choice: stay quiet, or risk arrest.

Sign this petition to demand that the Lyon County District Attorney drop all charges against Lux Claridge, that the Emporia City Commission revise its meeting rules to permit applause, and that Kansas officials investigate whether local government bodies are violating citizens' First Amendment rights at public meetings.