Convicted threatener wants LR ban lifted
Luke Skrable, who was convicted of terroristic threatening against Little Rock City Manager Bruce Moore two years ago, has requested that the ban on him entering city buildings be lifted.
Moore denied Skrable’s request earlier this month, but Skrable has until March 3 to appeal that decision to the mayor and city Board of Directors via letter. His attorney said Monday that Skrable plans to do that by the end of today.
The city banned Skrable from entering City Hall and other city- owned buildings, except when requested by city staff, in January 2015 after he became unruly at a city board meeting and fired off what was perceived as a threatening email to Moore.
In the email, Skrable told Moore, “Your days are numbered …”
Skrable claims he meant Moore’s days as city manager, though he did refer to physically fighting Moore in the email. A judge rejected Skrable’s assertion that the email, and a prior voicemail left with the Public Works Office that said “somebody’s going to be bleeding,” weren’t threatening.
Skrable was charged with terroristic threatening Jan. 23, 2015, three days after sending the email to Moore after a board meeting during which Skrable banged on the podium when getting upset that Mayor Mark Stodola wouldn’t let him address the board over a repeated concern about public records requests and ditch maintenance near his home.
A district court judge convicted Skrable in July 2015. He appealed, but was convicted again in circuit court
Jan. 6, 2016, at which point the judge re- instated a no- contact order between Skrable, Moore and the recipient of the voicemail, as well as ordered Skrable to comply with the city’s ban on him.
City Attorney Tom Carpenter wrote a letter after that order, telling Skrable that the ban would stay in place at least until Jan. 6 of this year, when Skrable’s probation ended.
Now that he’s gone two years without attending city board meetings and has completed his probation, Skrable said it’s time for Moore to lift the ban, or at least amend it.
“The city has fully extracted its ‘ pound of flesh’ sufficient to satisfy any interest it might have in punishing what it believes to be unacceptable conduct on the part of Mr. Skrable,” his attorney, Edward Adcock, said in a Jan. 23 letter to Moore.
The letter continued: “Skrable does not concede that the original ban was appropriate and does not concede that his behavior justified the claimed apprehension of defendant Moore. However, even taking as true every allegation against him, a two ( 2) year ban should be sufficient to drive home any point the City wants to make regarding Order and decorum at meetings.”
Moore disagreed and denied Skrable’s request. Carpenter, the city attorney, notified Skrable’s attorney of that fact in a Feb. 16 response letter.
“The major rationale is that the threats of violence, for which Mr. Skrable was convicted, are unique and
have been taken seriously by Mr. Moore, and other employees of the city,” Carpenter wrote. “I understand your attempt to mitigate, ‘ your days are numbered,’ and, ‘ somebody’s gonna be bleeding,’ but this argument has been clearly rejected by the persons who received these threats, and the threatened violence continues to be a cause for concern.”
He told Skrable that Moore would reconsider his request in one year if Skrable had not committed any offenses involving violence or harassment during that time.
Carpenter also spelled out the process for Skrable to appeal Moore’s decision via letter to the mayor and city board by March 5.
In an email Monday, Skrable said “of course” he will be appealing to the board.
“My Public Voice has been Silenced by this and all City Wide Bans for 762 days so far,” Skrable wrote.
Skrable has an ongoing federal lawsuit against the city claiming the ban from city buildings violates his First Amendment rights.
In the January letter from his attorney requesting the ban be lifted, Skrable expressed concern over not being able to attend neighborhood
association meetings, which take place at cityowned community centers, or city board meetings at City Hall.
“The ban was from its inception more severe, more encompassing than it needed to be to protect the city’s interest in maintaining order,” Adcock wrote, noting that Skrable has to pass through a metal detector to enter City Hall and that an armed guard is present at all city board meetings.
He said Skrable can’t advocate for his neighborhood if he’s not allowed to speak during the board’s public comment periods, but Carpenter rebutted that claim, saying Skrable can still email, write and call board members to express an opinion on any public matter.
Carpenter wrote in his response letter that Moore’s denial of lifting the ban was “purely over concerns for freedom from personal violence by Mr. Skrable,” and had nothing to do with Skrable’s ongoing lawsuit against the city.