photo by: Bremen Keasey

Michael Eravi (left) talking with Lawrence Police officers during the Tuesday night Lawrence commission meeting. Eravi was removed from the meeting and cited with criminal trespassing for disrupting the public comment period, talking over Mayor Bart Littlejohn before the public comment portion of the meeting began.

A frequent public commenter known for causing disruptions and berating local government leaders during public meetings was removed from the Lawrence City Commission meeting on Tuesday night for disruptive behavior and issued a notice to appear in court for criminal trespassing.

Michael Eravi was taken out of the meeting by police at the request of Mayor Bart Littlejohn after repeatedly interrupting Littlejohn, who was attempting to open the meeting’s general public comment period. Eravi, who was wearing a jester hat, walked up to the microphone and began speaking before the comment period had officially begun, calling the meeting a “clown show.”

Despite a warning from Littlejohn to wait, Eravi continued to talk over Littlejohn, at one point referring to him as “Littleman.” Littlejohn then asked for Eravi to be removed from the meeting, later saying he had given Eravi multiple warnings about the disruption.

Lawrence Police Department Deputy Chief Anthony Brixius confirmed to the Journal-World at the scene that Eravi was issued a notice to appear for criminal trespassing after he was escorted out of the building.

Tuesday was not the first time Eravi had been removed from or asked to leave a public meeting.

Earlier this summer, on the same day a lawsuit Eravi had filed against the city was dismissed for failing to provide factual support, Eravi came to the City Commission meeting and angrily used the N-word to berate Littlejohn, who is Black, during the general public comment period. Littlejohn asked police to remove Eravi, and the commission briefly recessed, as Eravi threatened to once again sue.

In addition, in summer 2023, City Manager Craig Owens notified Eravi that he was banned for 60 days from attending City Commission meetings in person after exhibiting “threatening and harassing behavior,” including telling two commissioners that he knew where they lived. Owens said in the letter that the ban came after Eravi had been asked to leave or was removed from meetings “no less than five times.” Owens said at that time that Eravi was still allowed to attend meetings virtually.

Eravi and another public commenter known for disruptive comments at meetings, Justin Spiehs, have both filed lawsuits against the city claiming violations of their First Amendment rights. Eravi’s suit, which alleged that his First Amendment rights were trampled when he was trespassed last year from the city-supported homeless camp in North Lawrence, was dismissed with prejudice in July, meaning that it cannot be brought again. Spiehs’ suits against various government entities are still pending, but a federal judge has denied his request to order the commission to temporarily stop enforcing its commenting policy, ruling that his overall claims were unlikely to succeed on the merits.

In response to an open records request by the Journal-World, the city indicated that it has spent more than $26,000 defending itself against lawsuits filed by Eravi and Spiehs between January 2023 and Aug. 23, 2024.