A 20-year-old man filed an appeal Wednesday over the 10-day sentence a Faulkner County district judge handed down to him for protesting a Conway School Board meeting last year.
James Alexander Barnett was sentenced Tuesday after a bench trial before District Judge Chris Carnahan. The judge found him guilty on one count each of criminal trespass and failure to disperse, both of which are Class C misdemeanors, according to court records.
According to Arkansas law, Class C misdemeanors can carry a maximum penalty of 30 days in jail, and a maximum fine of $500.
In addition to the 10-day sentence, he was also banned from all Conway schools for one year and ordered to pay $650 in fines and court fees, court documents show.
Barnett filed his appeal to the circuit court, and 20th Judicial District Judge H.G. Foster will preside over the case, according to an online docket. Court records didn’t indicate when his trial would begin.
An online Faulkner County jail inmate roster indicates Barnett was released from the facility on Wednesday afternoon.
“When someone is convicted in Arkansas of any offense in district court, they have a right to appeal immediately,” said Charles Finkenbinder, Conway city attorney. “And if they file an appeal from district court they’re automatically released.”
Finkenbinder is listed on the docket as the prosecuting attorney for the misdemeanor appeal. Deputy City Attorney Shelby Brown prosecuted the initial case.
Barnett's defense attorney, Susan Robinson Cross, didn't immediately return a request for comment on Thursday morning.
Police arrested Barnett during the board’s Nov. 8 meeting, a Conway Police Department report states.
Protesters at the meeting were ordered by police to move from the Conway School District’s administration building to its parking lot. Police said Barnett, as well as two others, Colburn Paul Clark and Keylen Montebreshon Botley, were arrested after remaining inside.
Botley pleaded guilty Dec. 5 to the same charges that Barnett faced, court records indicate. He was ordered by District Judge Charles Clawson to pay $450.
Clark’s trial is scheduled for May 5 at 1 p.m.
DIVISIVE SCHOOL BOARD ACTIONS
Conway residents have seen the board approve policies that police transgender restroom usage and accommodations on overnight trips, ban books from its libraries, showcase an email retention policy that short-circuits Freedom of Information Act requests and prohibit public comment at several board meetings.
To work around the ban on public comment, a group of individuals arrived at the November board meeting with signs opposing the board's latest moves.
Some signs at the meeting read, "Teach our children history," "Only cowards ban books," "Support ALL CPS students," "Trans kids belong," "Don't be a child's first bully," "Ban hate not books" and "Respect existence or expect resistance."
According to an online post from the Faulkner County Coalition for Social Justice, members of the University of Central Arkansas' Young Democratic Socialist group entered the meeting chanting "Trans lives matter."
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Protesters moved to the parking lot of the administration building after facing threats of arrest.
Three protesters were arrested for remaining inside, according to the online post.
The events of the board meeting followed a student-led walkout at the high school earlier that afternoon.
Social media posts before the meeting urged those in the community to meet the students at a nearby location to protest safely.
According to the posts, the protest was organized to oppose the two previously approved policies and the classroom content policy, and also to raise attention to the general public.
— Information for this article was contributed by Ashley Savage of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.