HERTFORD, N.C. — A small-town council is literally divided after a North Carolina judge ordered a barrier installed to separate two members who had a physical confrontation.
Media organizations reported that a superior court judge ruled last month that the wall is part of the conditions allowing Hertford town council members Quentin Jackson and Sid Eley to attend meetings in the cramped chambers. The screen kept the two men from seeing each other during a town council meeting Monday.
The barrier and a condition that the two men stay more than 20 feet apart were imposed after the 33-year-old Jackson was convicted of punching the 72-year-old Eley in the head. Jackson is appealing his January conviction of striking a government official. His punch came after a face-to-face confrontation escalated at an October meeting.
