WATCH: Woman suing Grand Traverse County holds press conference
AP
FILE - In this file image from a Zoom meeting provided by the Grand Traverse County Board of Commissioners, Grand Traverse County Commissioner Ron Clous holds a rifle at his home during a county commissioners meeting Jan. 20, 2021, in Michigan. Clous displayed the rifle during the online meeting in response to a citizen s comments about a far-right extremist group, drawing backlash from some local residents. (Grand Traverse County Board of Commissioners via AP, File)
By: FOX 17
and last updated 2021-04-13 12:06:28-04
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. â The woman suing the Grand Traverse County Commission after Commissioner Ron Clous pulled out a gun during a public comment session during a virtual meeting held a news conference Tuesday morning.
April 13, 2021
The displaying of a rifle while on-screen of a Grand Traverse County Commission meeting has garnered a federal lawsuit against the county and a sitting commissioner. Attorney Blake Ringsmuth represents Patricia Macintosh, who in January asked commissioners during a virtual meeting to publicly condemn the attack on the U.S. Capitol.
“Honestly, we’d be here if it was a gun, a knife, or some other threatening behavior,” Ringsmuth says. “It has nothing to do with that. It has to do with what we want to protect about our country. I can’t think of anything better than the First Amendment.”
Today on Stateside , a collision in Grand Traverse County between the region’s gun culture, and a growing awareness of how firearms inform public debate.
There is something about sitting behind a computer screen that seems to bring out the absolute worst in some people. And it’s even worse for people who are already in contention for being some of the worst people to begin with.
This week’s poster child for the worst being brought out in the worst comes to us from beautiful Grand Traverse County, the so-called “pinkie” of Michigan. The story starts last year when Grand Traverse County Commission Chair Rob Hentschel invited the Proud Boys to a Commission meeting to defend their reprehensible positions regarding guns and general fascism. In fact, Hentschel gave them far more time to spew their hateful speech than public comment rules typically permit.
22 Jan 2021
A liberal activist was demanding a northern Michigan county commission denounce the Proud Boys when a commissioner held a gun during a Wednesday virtual meeting.
Keli MacIntosh was calling on the Grand Traverse County Commission to be critical of the group, which does not have a presence in the area.
“Welcoming such a group and having that message go out has changed the environment of northern Michigan from a hunting culture to a gun culture,” MacIntosh said during the virtual meeting, ABC 7 reported.
During MacIntosh’s brief remarks, which were made during a public comment period, commission vice chairman Ron Clous left his seat and moments later returned with a rifle.