DES MOINES, Iowa — One person was arrested for criminal trespassing and interference with official acts Monday night during a Des Moines City Council meeting.
Des Moines police have identified the protester as 26-year-old John Noble.
Local 5's Eva Andersen and Ryan Scott were at the meeting when the arrest happened.
Towards the beginning of the meeting, protesters stood on chairs, booed the council members, and held signs calling council members racist and telling them to quit their jobs. Des Moines police then escorted four protesters out of the chambers.
Police told the protesters who had disrupted to leave the building. Local 5 cameras were rolling as they said, "You four need to leave the building. If you fail to leave the building, you'll be arrested for trespassing." Video below
As police stood in a lobby area between the chambers and the overflow area, Noble and other community members knocked on the door and asked to be let back into the meeting to speak on agenda items.
Officers periodically let others in to speak in the chambers, and Noble appeared to try to enter in, repeating, "They have a right to be in this meeting."
As the door was halfway opened, the police officer repeatedly told Noble, "Move your foot or you're going to jail."
Police then arrested Noble. Video below
The video below shows what led to the arrest.
At the beginning of the meeting, Mayor Frank Cownie read a list of rules regarding conduct and threatened to remove those who didn't cooperate.
Minutes later, protesters began disrupting the meeting and asking to speak on Item 40 on the agenda, which relates to Police Executive Research Forum for professional training of police officers.
The citizens holding signs told Local 5 afterward they also came to address Plan DSM, urban revitalization and the new city council rules on public comment periods.
Several warnings were issued before the council went to recess and police walked into the chamber where the meeting was being held.
Upon police walking in, the protesters began to leave the meeting room. Protesters stood outside the chamber with police guarding the vestibule between the council chamber and the building.
That's about the time the arrest happened.
The last in-person meeting, which was the first one held since COVID-19 forced meetings to go virtual, was also disrupted by protesters.