Conway School Board member Linda Hargis admitted to having drunk two beers and two tequila shots in a newly released police video taken after her arrest for drunk driving in Cabot. While in police custody, Hargis told the arresting officer that she was on the school board, asked him his political affiliation and took aim at groups she opposes.
The Cabot Police Department released the lengthy video Friday in response to an earlier request under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.
You can watch the full video here.
Hargis, 76, ran as a self-styled “patriot” and conservative when she was elected to the school board in 2022. She was among the board members who successfully targeted transgender students and teachers and who voted to remove two books with trans themes from school library shelves. During the police video, Hargis made it clear that she also opposes classroom posters or the like supporting Black Lives Matter.
In the video, Hargis counted on her fingers as she told a police officer what she had to drink and then said, “That’s it. I am not a drinker.”
The police incident report, which the Arkansas Times reported on Thursday, referred only to two beers, not to the tequilas.
Hargis complained about the handcuffs — “Unbelievable!” she protested — and told a police officer that she had played in a Senior Olympics pickleball tournament that day in Cabot. She later went to a VFW dance in Beebe and was returning to Cabot before playing pickleball again Sunday, she said. She told police that her husband, who was standing nearby and who drove another vehicle, has had “nothing” alcoholic to drink.
After an officer handcuffed Hargis, another officer said, “She’s probably been drinking all day.”
Earlier, during a sobriety walking test, Hargis, wearing cowboy boots and jeans, clearly lost her balance at one point.
At the police department, Hargis was given two breath tests for alcohol and registered .13 percent on both, as we’ve previously reported. That level is considered drunk, according to a University of Toledo website that addresses such tests.
After some time, Hargis told the arresting officer that she’s on the Conway School Board. He asked what she does in that position. She mentioned reviewing finances, then moved on to the issues that made her a household name in Conway — cultural politics.
At about 55:20 on the tape, Hargis got political. She asked the officer if he’s a Democrat or a Republican. He said he’s an independent.
Then she went into the LGBQT issues that have made her tenure on the board so contentious. She asked him if he is “invested” in allowing LGBQT and Black Lives Matter posters being displayed in classrooms.
“It can go back and forth,” he said, then added, “I don’t think that stuff belongs in the school.”
“That’s where I am,” Hargis said. “I think you have a right to live however you want to live. … But you do not have the right to bring it into the classroom. … I can’t believe you haven’t seen me on the news.”
She tells him about the firestorm that erupted after she got elected and the board targeted the bathroom gender issue. At one point, she refers to “these transgenders.”
“How is this going to impact me in Conway?” she asked the officer who basically said he didn’t know. She asked him if the arrest would make the news. He said that word sometimes gets out and asked if she has any enemies.
“There’s a lot of people that don’t like me,” Hargis said.
The officer mentioned that people can access information through the Freedom of Information Act, to which Hargis said, “Debra Shelton. … She’s always looking for crap. Always.”
Hargis said maybe she should call Jimmie Cavin, a Facebook blogger and a muscleman-type Republican who got into a fistfight with another man at a recent Republican event in Saline County. Cavin later obliged and went on Facebook where he suggested people were being too mean to Hargis.
On Friday, Conway School Board President Dr. David Naylor Jr. issued a statement on Facebook saying, “As Board President, I want to acknowledge that we are aware of the personal situation Ms. Linda Hargis, our Board Secretary, is facing. During this time, we are working to gather accurate information and provide the necessary support. If you have any questions or concerns, I kindly ask that you direct them to Ms. Hargis.”
The school district also issued a statement saying it “has recently been made aware of a personal matter concerning Hargis. “As this is a private issue, we respectfully ask that any inquiries regarding this situation be directed to Ms. Hargis. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation.”
