Woman Arrested, Dragged Away After Speaking About Flock at City Council Meeting

At a September city council meeting in Springfield, Missouri, dozens of residents who came to press for a review of the city’s use of Flock automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras were denied public comment after Mayor Jeff Schrag moved to send a proposed review resolution to committee. The 5-3 vote to postpone triggered boos and a room clearing; Schrag paused the meeting, turned off recording cameras, and ordered the public to leave. Two people were detained and ticketed: freelance photographer Noah Powell, who was handcuffed and cited after shouting at officials while exiting, and Mia (Miley) Heider, a first-time attendee who later spoke against the ALPRs during a different public-comment slot, had her microphone cut, flashed her middle fingers as an officer approached, and was briefly handcuffed and cited for disrupting the peace.

Springfield operates 41 Flock cameras, and councilor Brandon Jenson had proposed a “comprehensive review” of related contracts that many residents expected to be heard. Local activists with Flock Out SGF say the resolution was a compromise and that silencing speakers denied constituents their chance to raise prepared concerns. Both Powell and Heider say they will contest their citations; the police department declined to comment. The incident joins several recent U.S. episodes where citizens were detained or arrested for vocal opposition during local government meetings, underscoring tensions over public input and surveillance policy.