FIRE, Open Government Coalition say Rockingham violated 1st Amendment with public comment prohibition

Posted Monday, September 7, 2026 2:56 pm William R. Toler ROCKINGHAM — City officials likely violated the First Amendment last month when they declared data centers off-limits during public comment. When it came time for the 'Business by Visitors' portion of the Aug. 11 Rockingham City Council meeting — the time allotted for comments from the public — Mayor John Hutchinson told those in the audience they had to wait until the scheduled public hearing. 'We will not be taking comments on data centers tonight, or on the rezoning,' Hutchinson said. 'The appropriate time for that will be during the public hearing next meeting.' Earlier in the meeting, the council set a public hearing for Sept. 8 to rezone property on Old Cheraw Highway from high density residential to conditional light industrial for a proposed data center, following a detailed overview from Asst. City Manager John Massey. The RO contacted free speech experts for their opinions regarding the topic prohibition. 'If the council is imposing this restriction simply because it doesn't want to hear citizens speak about a proposed data center, which is a matter plainly relevant to city business, that would violate the First Amendment,' said Aaron Terr, FIRE's director of public advocacy.' If the city has an established rule excluding matters already scheduled for a separate public hearing where residents will have an opportunity to comment, Terr said that rule 'might pass constitutional muster.' 'But if public comment is otherwise open to matters of city business and the mayor made an ad hoc decision to ban discussion of this particular issue, that's much harder to justify,' Terr added. Pate McMichael, director of the N.C. Open Government Coalition, agrees. "It's 100% illegal for the Rockingham City Council to ban public comments regarding data centers,' McMichael said. 'Public bodies are required by state law to hold public comment periods on a monthly basis. 'Nothing in state law allows public bodies to define what topics may be addressed during public comment,' McMichael continued. 'That's flagrant censorship — which violates state law and the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution." Last week, the city announced that the public hearing is scheduled for one hour. However, the mayor will have the discretion to extend the allotted time. Each speaker will be limited to three minutes 'to allow as many speakers as possible.' Following the public hearing, the council will also consider awarding a $12.7 million construction contract to Greenville, South Carolina-based Harper General Contractors for improvements to the wastewater treatment plant. The meeting is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 8.