Skip Hoagland sentenced to jail time by Beaufort Co. judge for repeated meeting violations
Already facing thousands of dollars in fines for his brash behavior at public meetings, local government critic Calvin “Skip” Hoagland was sentenced to five days in county jail for a decorum violation, an exasperated judge ruled Wednesday morning.
In reality, Hoagland would likely be promptly released on bond following his booking at the Beaufort County Detention Center on Wednesday, according to Magistrate Judge Erin G. Vaux. If he was not released by Thursday, Vaux would order his release, she said.
As the criminal charges for decorum violations and interrupting public meetings continued to stack up, the judge said she thought imposing jail time was her only option.
“Jail time is meant to be punitive. It is meant to change the behavior. It is meant to deter.” Vaux told Hoagland during Wednesday morning’s proceedings. “Clearly, a fine does not deter you — and in fact, you ignore them. You refuse to pay them.”
At times during the hour-long proceeding, the judge had to remind Hoagland and his attorney that the court was not going to retry cases where verdicts had already been reached. Hoagland was granted permission to read a three-page statement declaring his innocence and asking how he should act in a public meeting to comply with the law.
The sentencing was held at the Bluffton Magistrate Court building on Bluffton Parkway. A small group of Hoagland’s supporters were in attendance, with a half-dozen wearing red T-shirts reading “Free Skip.”
Vaux’s sentencing was previously sealed due to Hoagland leaving the courtroom early in October. He was given permission to attend those proceedings via video chat from Florida, where he claimed he was staying to avoid a hurricane. He left that call mid-hearing, which the judge ruled as an absence.
After the sentencing, Vaux cleared the courtroom of spectators because one woman had attempted to photograph Hoagland being detained, which was a violation of an order Vaux gave the courtroom at the beginning of the hearing. The woman’s phone was briefly confiscated by court personnel and it wasn’t until she apologized that it was returned to her.
Tense moments in the courtroom
Even against the repeated advice of his counsel, Hoagland was defiant throughout Wednesday’s hearing. He interrupted the judge on multiple occasions and verbally expressed disdain for Curtis Coltrane, a Hilton Head-area attorney who represented the Town of Bluffton. Coltrane was seated less than five feet away from Hoagland in the magistrate’s small courtroom.
For years, Hoagland has frequented public meetings at the county and municipal level, using the public comment period to deliver tirades against local chambers of commerce and perceived government corruption. Citing his harsh tone and history of serious allegations levied toward elected officials, one Bluffton Town Council member previously called his speeches a “three-minute assault.”
Many of Hoagland’s criminal charges stem from his refusing to step down from the podium at the end of his allotted speaking time. Police have forcibly removed him from meetings on several occasions.
Beginning last year, Hoagland attempted to use a power of attorney document to borrow three additional minutes of public comment from another Hilton Head resident, bringing his total time to six minutes. That tactic resulted in further criminal charges, although he has appealed those convictions.
Since July 2023, Hoagland has accumulated 22 convictions related to decorum violations and interrupting public meetings, according to Beaufort County judicial records. Each of those convictions comes with a $1,087.50 fine, although it was unclear how many he had paid as of Wednesday’s proceedings. Vaux said from the bench that Hoagland had paid some previous fines when the specter of jail time was threatened.
Throughout Wednesday’s proceedings, Hoagland doubled down on his promise to continue to appear at public meetings throughout the county and continue to speak out.
“I will never stop doing what I’m doing — ever. Be clear on that,” Hoagland told the judge before he was led out of the courtroom by two sheriff’s deputies. He was booked into the Beaufort County Detention Center around 12:15 p.m. Wednesday, according to jail rosters.
This story was originally published November 13, 2024 at 1:27 PM.
