Charges Filed Against 2 In Connection To Incident At State Board Of Education Meeting

Charges have been filed against two men in connection to an incident that took place at a State Board of Education meeting in June.

Related: ‘It Was Very Upsetting To See’: Charges Possible After Incident At Okla. Department Of Education Meeting

Oklahoma County court documents said Edwards Moore Jr. has been charged with one count of obstructing or impeding passage with a state building, two counts of assault and battery and one count of willfully disturbing, interfering with or disrupting state business agency operations, or employees.

The documents also said Leonard Scott III is also charged with one count of obstructing or impeding passage with a state building.

A probable cause affidavit revealed that at around 8:30 a.m. on June 22, authorities responded to a possible altercation taking place in the lobby of the Oliver Hodge Building.

Oklahoma Highway Patrol Lieutenant Alan Beaty was told that Department of Public Safety Security Officer Brandon Smith was aggressively pushed by a man in the crowd, the affidavit said.

Beaty said he heard a man yelling, being disorderly and claiming that the state was keeping him out of the meeting.

OHP Lieutenant Ricky Gunkel pointed out Moore as the person who pushed Smith, the affidavit said.

Beaty said he saw Moore and Scott standing in front of the hallway leading to the meeting room, blocking people from being able to enter, the affidavit said.

Beaty said he found Scott handing out numbers in the lobby and asked him to step outside before telling the crowd that Scott was not a state employee, and the numbers he was handing out didn’t mean anything.

Scott told Beaty he thought of using the number system to create order, claiming that people were trampled at the last meeting.

Beaty told Scott that he was also at the last meeting, and no one was trampled.

Everyone involved in the incident agreed to leave the property and not return, the affidavit said.

A female witness came forward, claiming Moore had grabbed her and told her she couldn’t enter because she didn’t have a number.

Through security footage, Moore was shown grabbing the witness as she was trying to enter the hallway and struggling to get free, the affidavit said.

The footage showed when Smith became involved and was aggressively pushed by Moore.

The affidavit said video from a news report on the incident showed Scott using his body and walker to block people from entering the hallway.