County Commissioner Candidate Arrested for Trying to Speak at Hearing After Encountering Problems with Signup Form

A Hagerstown resident and Washington County Commissioner candidate, Curtis Reigh, was arrested on April 28, 2026, after attempting to speak during a public hearing concerning water and sewer rates. According to court documents from the District Court for Washington County, Reigh was charged with trespassing on a public agency during hours. This marks the second time Reigh has been arrested in connection with speaking at a County Commissioner meeting.

The legal proceedings against Reigh stem from an issue with registering to speak at public comment sessions. Reigh stated that he initially attempted to register for multiple April meetings using the county’s new public hearing signup process. However, upon submission, the system apparently only registered him for a single meeting. He then communicated with county officials, including Michelle Gordon, the County Administrator, via email, providing a screenshot to illustrate the perceived malfunction of the website. Reigh expressed his intent to speak at all scheduled public hearings for April.

Despite Reigh’s efforts to clarify the situation and provide documentation of his attempts to register, he was informed that the website was functioning as intended. County officials reiterated that to be registered, individuals must click the submit button for each topic they wish to address. Reigh maintained that his actions constituted a timely and reasonable effort to register and notify the county of the technical issue he experienced. He was subsequently informed that he was not listed to speak at any of the meetings.

The situation escalated on April 28, 2026, when Reigh proceeded to the public hearing regarding water and sewer rates, intending to speak. He was arrested on-site by Deputy Howard Ward of the Washington County Sheriff’s Department. The charge of Trespass on Public Agency During Hours is a misdemeanor.

“It is my position that I made a reasonable and timely effort to register and to notify the county of the issue,” said Reigh. “I believe most would agree that sufficient notice was given under the circumstances.”

However, since today’s meeting, the design of the form has changed to a drop-down instead of checkboxes, allowing only one meeting to be selected instead of multiple. This seems counter to previous statements that the website was working properly.

Reigh’s prior arrest occurred on June 3, 2025, for a similar charge of Trespass on Public Agency During Hours. In that instance, the case was resolved with a plea of Not Guilty with Agreed Statement of Facts, leading to Probation Before Judgment on October 30, 2025. The current case, State of Maryland vs. Curtis William Reigh, is open, with an initial court appearance scheduled for June 10, 2026, in Courtroom 1 at the Washington District Court. Reigh waived his right to an attorney at his initial appearance, and bail was set at $0.00, with release on his own recognizance.

Reigh was denied the ability to speak at a public hearing regarding water and sewer rates. Reigh, who works for Mays Septic, would have been uniquely qualified to speak on this topic. Reigh is also currently a candidate for County Commissioner, and will be running against multiple candidates, including incumbents Randy Leatherman, Jeff Cline, and Commissioner President John Barr who ordered Reigh to be removed.

Since the announcement of the new public hearing signup process, multiple residents have experienced issues with the system, including difficulties signing up as Reigh experienced, and even public hearings missing from the signup form.

Radio Free Hub City has filed a Public Information Act request for additional details regarding the difficulties encountered by residents when attempting to signup for public hearings.

Associated documents for this story are available in our Public Information Archive.

Article by Ken Buckler, based upon information from court records and email correspondence.

---