Lawsuit seeks sanctions against Mich. county, official who displayed rifle in meeting

Charles E. Ramirez, The Detroit News
·2 min read

Apr. 12—A Grand Traverse County woman has filed a federal lawsuit against the county and the county commissioner who displayed a rifle during a January commission meeting, her attorney said.

The lawsuit stems from a Jan. 20 meeting of the Grand Traverse County Commission that was held remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Patricia Macintosh and her lawyer, Blake Ringsmuth, have scheduled a 11:30 a.m. news conference Tuesday in Traverse City to discuss the suit, which they said was filed Monday in the U.S. District Court's Western District of Michigan, Southern Division.

Macintosh, 74, alleges the county and the county commissioner violated her constitutional right to free speech and her suit seeks a federal court order to keep the incident from happening again. She wants a jury trial, according to the lawsuit, and seeks punitive damages.

During the meeting's remote public comment period, Macintosh criticized the commission's chairman for allowing members of the far-right Proud Boys group to speak last year in favor of declaring the county a "Second Amendment Sanctuary."

As the caller spoke, commissioner Ron Clous retrieved a rifle and held it in view of the camera before setting it aside.

Clous' act drew local backlash and grabbed international headlines. Macintosh filed a report with the Michigan State Police. In February, a spokesman for Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said her office was weighing charges against Clous.

Since the meeting, Macintosh says she has received threats because of her stance on guns and the Proud Boys. The lawsuit also references three recent events that it alleges added to the perceived threat: armed protesters in the Michigan capital in spring 2020, the arrest in October 2020 of a group of men accused of wanting to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

"In the aftermath, Patricia Macintosh received threatening phone calls and lives in fear, given how groups such as Proud Boys respond to those who don't share their beliefs," her attorney said in an announcement for Tuesday's news conference. "Despite this, she is asking the Court to deem this threatening behavior illegal and unconstitutional and to declare and order that it never happen again."

cramirez@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @CharlesERamirez

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