Four elected officials in Lake Worth, Fla., walked out in protest Dec. 2 before atheist Preston Smith, 34, started his invocation to open the city commission meeing. Commissioner Christopher McVoy was the only one to stay, as did the city manager and city attorney. Mayor Pam Triolo and three commissioners left the chambers. “Free speech works both ways,” Triolo told WPTV. “You can say what you want and I can choose to leave.”
Walking out was “very un-American, and a slap in the face to the principles people fought very hard to make sure we had those rights,” McVoy said. “If we choose to have an invocation, we have a responsibility to respectfully listen.”
