PORT WASHINGTON, Wis. — A Port Washington Common Council meeting erupted in chaos Tuesday night when an attendee opposed to the approval of an $8 billion data center refused to leave during public comment, prompting the forcible removal of three people.
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The attendee was asked to leave multiple times, according to a statement from the Port Washington Common Council. Video posted to the Facebook page of Great Lakes Neighbors United, a nonprofit dedicated to stopping the data center, shows officers initially attempting to remove the woman, which quickly led to an outcry from other community members.
"Leave her alone! Stop touching her!" one attendee shouted in the video.
The woman was eventually handcuffed and escorted out of the meeting. Two other attendees soon followed, also removed for what the common council calls "additional actions that disrupted the meeting."
The Port Washington Common Council said the decision to remove the first attendee came after she was "unwilling to meet" expectations set at the beginning of Tuesday's meeting and refused to leave.
The common council said those expectations were to "create a secure environment with respectful public discourse where speakers are not disrupted or shouted down, regardless of their viewpoint."
Public comment resumed after a short break, according to the common council.
TMJ4 reached out to the Port Washington Police for comment and was told that a press release would be released as soon as possible regarding the incident.
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