HAGERSTOWN – The Washington County Board of County Commissioners has seen just about enough of coarse expletives, profane placards and naked buttocks at their recent weekly meetings. They put it in writing on Monday, March 31,
With the announcement of new Meeting Conduct and Meeting Sequence guidelines, the Commission expressed its muted exasperation with the issue by updating and strengthening existing policies to keep order at weekly meetings.
In the last month, the regular Tuesday gatherings have been repeatedly disrupted by the antics of Hagerstown activist Shaun Porter, who operates on the premise that theatrics get his myriad grievances noticed amid otherwise mundane county business.
The new policy states that citizens and other visitors attending Board of County Commissioner meetings “shall preserve order and decorum” and that those showing conduct believed to delay or interrupt proceedings shall be “removed from the Board’s meeting room.”
County Spokeswoman Danielle Weaver told LocalNews1.org that the security presence will remain consistent moving forward.
“If someone disrupts a meeting, the presiding officer, at his discretion, will enforce the rules,” Weaver said.
The directive adds that “any behavior that may violate applicable communications laws, statutes or regulations or social media platform community guidelines, preventing dissemination of the meeting to the citizens of Washington County shall not be permitted.”
Under the new guidelines, signs and displays are still permitted, so long as they do not disrupt proceedings or violate any of the new rules. Video recordings are made of the citizens’ participation section of the weekly meetings, where anyone can sign up to speak for three minutes, sometimes more. The Commissioners are under no obligation to respond during those citizen questions or comments.
The document specifies that “personal attacks, abusive language or disruptive comments” unrelated to county business that interfere with the live video feed of the meeting “shall not be allowed.” Use of profanity, or any heckling from the attendees at the meetings is likewise not allowed.
Rules for conduct at commissioners’ meetings are guided by a combination of state and local ordinances combined with previously adopted procedural guidelines previously adopted by the board.
In March, Porter repeatedly addressed the board using frequent profanity and displayed signs from the public gallery – all to amplify his litany of accusatory issues of governmental malfeasance among elected officials and individuals among the commissioners, the county school board and more. He sometimes takes his show on the road, displaying signs at busy intersections and the residences of local officials.
Porter alleges a hodgepodge of government overreach and lack of transparency through a host of grievances. In 2024, he filed a 227-page federal lawsuit against county government alleging corruption and the violation of his constitutional rights for retaliating against him by issuing warning letters invoking the potential of peace orders against him.
On March 19, commissioners sent Porter a warning letter that addressed his disruptive behavior and inflammatory language during public comment sessions. Five days later, he exposed himself at the next Commissioners’ meeting during a citizen participation segment – the latest of several moonings in public.
In March, commissioners temporarily suspended public airing of the public comments section of the meetings, depriving Porter of his televised platform, followed by three unidentified county employees filing for peace orders against Porter for his profane and disruptive behavior at public meetings.
At a March 29 hearing, a judge ruled against the orders, citing insufficient evidence the petitioners were in any physical danger from the disruptions.
Some may view Porter as a defender of free speech and accountability, while others see his disruptive personal attacks and stunts as undermining his message.
While agreeing his tactics are uncouth, Porter told LocalNews1.org they give his viewpoints exposure they never would get in the context of slow moving meetings, citing the popularity of the old Jerry Springer television program, sometimes sensational and violent, as an inspiration.
“I have no doubt in my mind this is all about me,” he said. “People don’t care about well-articulated arguments. I exercise my right to free speech in the way I choose.”
Writing for Radio Free Hub City blog, Washington County Commentator Ken Buckler noted he has “significant concerns” about the measure’s potential impact on free speech rights and legal liability for the county.
He cited research by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression regarding similar instances across the country where enactment of new, strident decorum policies introduced to maintain order at public meetings were actually more about suppression of dissent. “Most people can agree that recent personal attacks at county meetings have been unpleasant and counter-productive,” Buckler wrote. “We must absolutely find a way to return some sanity to county meetings, but not at the expense of taxpayers footing the bill for an avoidable legal settlement.”
