Two of three Coos County Commissioners walked out of a meeting after a motion was made to adjourn when members in a crowd of nearly 75 people became unruly. Commissioner John Sweet made the motion that was seconded by Commissioner Melissa Cribbins only 20 minutes into the scheduled regular Board of Commissioners meeting. The crowd holding protest signs that included references to mask equalling Naziism also spoke and yelled from the audience. Commissioner Sweet, who was given the floor from Chair Bob Main, asked the mostly unmasked crowd to put on a mask or wait in the lobby until it was their turn to speak. But, when the crowd refused and became more and more vocal with protests, Commissioners Sweet and Cribbins left the meeting. Main, who was not wearing a mask, was the only one to remain, but without a quorum could not continue the county’s business. An emotional Cribbins went live on her social media page and told her audience while she wants to have public participation in the meetings, it was not okay to feel threatened and unsafe. Commissioners continued the meeting to Wednesday morning. It will be held virtually. The public will also have a chance to participate under public comments. K-DOCK News will update this story as soon as the meeting link and time are made available.
