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By CINDY MALLETTE
And ROY MAYNARD
Staff Writers

Tyler police issued an official warning to former mayoral and City Council candidate Larry Meckley to stay away from City Hall while they investigate whether e-mails he sent to two City Council members and the city manager constitute terroristic threats.

Meckley denies making threats and says his e-mails were “misunderstood.”

The e-mails were sent on May 15 and 16 to council members Charles Alworth and Nathaniel Moran and to City Manager Bob Turner, following comments Alworth and Moran made during the most recent City Council meeting.

Meckley ran against Alworth on May 10 for the District 6 council seat and lost with 16.9 percent of the vote. In one e-mail, Meckley chides Alworth for laughing about the percentage by which he beat Meckley and comparing that percentage to the Meckley-Seeber match-up for mayor in 2006, which yielded similar results.

“I read in the newspaper that you made fun of a Vietnam veteran during a city council meeting. The veteran wasn’t even there to defend himself. That is the most pathetic … cowardly, yellow-bellied conduct I have ever heard,” Meckley wrote.

He goes on to accuse Alworth of abusing his position on the council and of breaking out the windows of Meckley’s car. He also demands a public apology in the next City Council meeting.

A second e-mail was sent to Nathaniel Moran. In it, Meckley refers to Moran’s praise of outgoing Mayor Seeber, which included a biblical reference.

“The next paragraph in the newspaper then describes how Seeber and Alworth make fun of me and discussed the percent of votes,” Meckley wrote. “Do you know how I feel right now? The paper says you all laughed at me and made fun of me. This is what causes school kids to take guns to school and shoot people. I am really hurting.”

In the third e-mail, Meckley accuses Turner of using the city code enforcement officer, Seeber and Alworth to harass him at home and at the City Council meetings.

“You have inflicted emotional distress upon me and you are responsible for my actions from this time forward,” he wrote. “A person can take only so much. I do not know the law and I can only tell you that you went too far.”

Tyler Police Chief Gary Swindle said “that kind of language is very disturbing. Based on the content, we feel there could be a threat to public safety.”

Contacted late Tuesday, Meckley said he meant no threats.

“They misunderstood everything,” Meckley said. “They’re harassing me again, just like they did when they broke my windows two years ago. They’re terrible people down there and it’s just terrible what they do to citizens. They made fun of me at the last City Council meeting. I thought that was improper, and I was just e-mailing them expressing that what they did was wrong.”

When asked what he meant by the phrase, “you are responsible for my actions from this time forward,” Meckley said he only meant he will keep speaking at City Council meetings.

“What I’m saying is I’m going to keep expressing my concerns. That’s my history. That’s all I’ve done.”

Meckley said the phrase, “this is what causes school kids to take guns to school and shoot people” was not meant to be a threat.

“When you make fun of people, it makes them do things they wouldn’t normally do,” he said. “They keep picking on me and no one seems to care. But I’m not saying I am going to do something I wouldn’t normally do. All my thoughts and actions are innocent and pure.”

Assistant City Manager Mark McDaniel said that although officials have received many e-mails from Meckley in the past, these three are different.

“He’s taking a different tone in these e-mails,” McDaniel said.

“You can’t take these things lightly anymore,” Swindle said. “Our opinion is we’ll err on the side of public safety.”

Seeber said security has already been beefed up, and additional funds were put into the current year’s budget for security upgrades.

The charge of terroristic threat is a Class A misdemeanor. If Meckley violates the order to stay away from City Hall, he could be charged with criminal trespass, a Class B misdemeanor.

Swindle says the investigation by Tyler police detectives should take about a week, and will involve speaking with Meckley, the City Council members and the city manager, and with the Smith County District Attorney’s Office.

If charges are filed, they would be filed in a county court-at-law, not municipal court.

Moran declined to comment on the matter, saying it’s a pending investigation. Alworth was not available for comment.

“Mr. Meckley certainly has the right to free speech and to his opinions,” Turner said. “However, when the speech takes on a threatening tone, it is cause for concern.”