County commissioners on Monday expressed support for a proposal to require permits for large protests, as well as limiting where protests can take place.
Commission Chair Laverne Coleman emphasized that the ordinance is not intended to deprive anyone of their right to protest, but instead to keep protests from disrupting instructional time during the school day.
The ordinance came about at the request of Columbus County Schools, after protests at Williams Township earlier this year. John Barnette of True Healing Under God (THUG) Ministries, a civil rights group from Charlotte, picketed Williams after a substitute teacher was accused of using racial slurs against children at the school. The school board found no grounds for the allegations and dismissed the complaint.
Barnette’s groups parked vehicles on the roadside and a nearby private business while picketing along the state rights of way by the school. They did not trespass on school property.
Parents and supporters of the school counterprotested, and the sheriff’s office deployed additional deputies to the area for security. Students and teachers complained that the protesters could be heard in classrooms. Parents also said protestors were attempting to intimidate them, photographing license plates and delaying parents from entering pickup lines.
Coleman said the new rules will prohibit protests within a tenth of a mile of a school. Protests that are expected to attract large crowds must also apply for a free permit from the sheriff’s office.
Commissioner Barbara Featherson said she did not think the rule was necessary, and duplicated existing laws.
The proposal will come up for a final vote at Monday’s meeting of the commissioners.
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