Pinellas Board Chairman Orders Removal of Woman Playing Call to Prayer

A woman who played an audio recording of the Islamic call to prayer instead of speaking was escorted from a Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners meeting on Wednesday, drawing objections from onlookers who questioned the board chairman's decision. The woman, dressed in black from head to toe with only her left eye visible, approached the podium during the public comment period and started the recording rather than addressing the board. It was not immediately clear whether her action was intended as a protest or a prank.

The audio ran for nearly a minute before Board Chairman Dave Eggers intervened. He said county rules require anyone addressing the board to speak in person rather than play recordings. "Ma'am, you're going to have to stop .. stop the music, stop the tape," Eggers told her. She did not stop the recording, and a deputy from the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office escorted her from the meeting room and the building.

The removal prompted shouting from several people in the audience, who argued with Eggers over the decision. "Please. Just please exercise some decorum and kindness of your own," Eggers responded. "We're all people living together here." He then restated the board's policy for those present: "We don't allow taped things. You can record the meeting, but we don't allow taped activity like that. We ask you to come here and make comments, and that was not a comment. That's why she was asked to step out."

The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office confirmed the woman left the premises without further incident and said she will not face criminal charges.