Activist Rodney Jones no longer facing charge of disturbing School Board meeting
A criminal charge has been dropped against the former president of the Manatee NAACP two months after he was accused of disturbing the peace at a School Board meeting.
Rodney Jones was arrested during the Oct. 22 meeting when he voiced criticism from his seat in the audience during a shouting match between district officials and a public speaker. Jones felt the district was stifling public comment. When he began to argue with Dave Miner, the board’s chairman, Miner quickly signaled for Bradenton police to remove and arrest him.
Jones was charged with one misdemeanor count of disturbing a school board assembly. But on Friday, the case was closed after the State Attorney’s Office declined to file formal charges.
“I just wish everybody would focus on the real story,” Jones said Monday morning. “There are no security issues at the School Board meeting. No one has ever been threatened. No one has brought a weapon to the meeting.”
The school district implemented new security measures at the board meeting in August, citing vague safety concerns. An internal email, sent to board members and district staff months later, connected the security measures with the discourse, controversy and crowded meetings that followed Manatee’s takeover of Lincoln Memorial Academy on July 23.
The new measures have generated criticism, including recent comments from board member James Golden. At the most recent board meeting, Golden said there should be “no law enforcement action unless there is a direct threat to the board,” and he called for alternatives to ejecting people from the audience.
Miner, who was chair of the board at the time of Jones’ Oct. 22 arrest, disagreed with Golden’s comments. Anyone who can’t behave in a “mature, orderly way” should be asked to leave, Miner said at the last meeting.
“If they don’t leave, they should be escorted out,” he continued. “If they resist, they should be arrested.”
In an interview on Monday morning, Jones said the School Board was using the topic of security as “smoke and mirrors,” an attempt to avoid tough conversations about Lincoln Memorial Academy and, according to Jones, wrongdoing by the district.
Miner did not return phone calls Monday seeking comment.
Jones is still facing charges stemming from his arrest during a Bradenton City Council meeting in May, though he felt confident the case would also be dismissed. He was arrested for refusing to leave the podium after being allowed to address the City Council, sometime after arriving late and missing the public comment session.
Bradenton police charged Jones with disturbing a public meeting and resisting arrest without violence.
Jones said he was willing to get arrested again to hold the School Board and police accountable. He also intends to pursue a civil case for his arrests.
“I have no choice,” he said. “I owe to my community because I am not the only one.”
This story was originally published December 23, 2019 at 1:17 PM.
