Joe.My.God. LGBT News
The Associate Press reports:
A lawsuit can go forward against a Michigan official who flashed a rifle during a public meeting over video conference, a federal appeals court said Wednesday.
Patricia MacIntosh is suing Ron Clous, alleging he tried to silence her right to free speech when he displayed the rifle during a 2021 meeting of Grand Traverse County commissioners. Clous has no governmental immunity at this stage of the litigation, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in a 2-1 opinion.
“Virtually smirking and displaying a high-powered rifle at someone during a tension-filled public meeting is pregnant with dangerous meaning,” said judges Jane Stranch and Stephanie Dawkins Davis.
From my January 2021 report:
MacIntosh questioned what she called the board’s support of the Proud Boys, and asked commission Chairman Rob Hentschel to make a statement denouncing the group. That’s when Clous stepped away from his webcam and returned with a rifle.
MacIntosh said she had a visceral reaction. She felt threatened, she said. “This guy is in the middle of a government meeting brandishing a weapon,” MacIntosh said. “Why would I not think they were trying to harm me?”
Clous later defended flashing the weapon and said he had no problem with the Proud Boys, which has been deemed an extremist group by the FBI.
Patricia MacIntosh is suing Ron Clous, alleging he tried to silence her right to free speech when he displayed the rifle during a 2021 meeting of Grand Traverse County commissioners.https://t.co/bsud2qeQQu
— upnorthlive.com (@upnorthlive) May 31, 2023