Woman arrested at Arizona city council meeting for exercising her 1st amendment rights sues
Rebekah Massie. Click for original image
(credit: Christine Hillman Photography).
Rebekah Massie, the woman who was arrested two weeks ago while attempting to speak during the open comment period at the city council meeting in Surprise, Arizona, has now sued the town’s mayor Skip Hall, the policeman who arrested her, and the city council for violating her 1st amendment rights.
The lawsuit, filed by her attorneys at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), can be read here. From FIRE’s press release:
FIRE’s lawsuit aims to permanently stop enforcement of the city policy used to silence Rebekah and obtain damages. In the meantime, FIRE moved for a court order to stop the city’s use of the policy while the lawsuit is pending. The lawsuit names the City of Surprise, Mayor Hall, and Steven Shernicoff, the officer who arrested Rebekah, as defendants. Quintus Schulzke, a Surprise resident who frequently makes public comments at city council meetings, also signed on as a plaintiff. Without legal intervention, Schulzke — or any other member of the public — risks arrest simply for speaking his mind to his elected representatives.
I have embedded the video of Massie’s arrest below. When I first reported this story I suggested Massie find a good lawyer and sue. It is great she wasted no time doing so. Even better, she is personally suing the mayor and the police officer who arrested her, and demanding punitive damages.
Mayor Skip Hall of Surprise, AZ has a constituent arrested during a city council meeting for openly complaining about how much specific city employees are being paid pic.twitter.com/OkwqxynzdN
— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) August 25, 2024
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Rebekah Massie. Click for original image
(credit: Christine Hillman Photography).
Rebekah Massie, the woman who was arrested two weeks ago while attempting to speak during the open comment period at the city council meeting in Surprise, Arizona, has now sued the town’s mayor Skip Hall, the policeman who arrested her, and the city council for violating her 1st amendment rights.
The lawsuit, filed by her attorneys at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), can be read here. From FIRE’s press release:
FIRE’s lawsuit aims to permanently stop enforcement of the city policy used to silence Rebekah and obtain damages. In the meantime, FIRE moved for a court order to stop the city’s use of the policy while the lawsuit is pending. The lawsuit names the City of Surprise, Mayor Hall, and Steven Shernicoff, the officer who arrested Rebekah, as defendants. Quintus Schulzke, a Surprise resident who frequently makes public comments at city council meetings, also signed on as a plaintiff. Without legal intervention, Schulzke — or any other member of the public — risks arrest simply for speaking his mind to his elected representatives.
I have embedded the video of Massie’s arrest below. When I first reported this story I suggested Massie find a good lawyer and sue. It is great she wasted no time doing so. Even better, she is personally suing the mayor and the police officer who arrested her, and demanding punitive damages.
Mayor Skip Hall of Surprise, AZ has a constituent arrested during a city council meeting for openly complaining about how much specific city employees are being paid pic.twitter.com/OkwqxynzdN
— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) August 25, 2024
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Great advice!
Make the rubble Bounce.
The loss of our Constitutional Rights has accelerated since Biden/Harris took office. The Democrats are America’s mortal enemy. They are very public in their hatred for all things American, but nothing will improve until they fear for their lives. If you think Trump will do anything that will fix things long term, you’re in for a very unpleasant surprise. Trump’s not that man.
She has a good point but the tantruming at the end, not the best way to do it.
It is WRONG, but comply with the police and go out quietly THEN SUE. Otherwise they get her with resisting arrest, and a bunch of other crap which they WILL make stick and now she has that garbage on her record.
she also did the correct thing by suing the individuals PERSONALLY. See this forces them to put some of their own skin into the game as well, now THEY are paying money out of their pockets for legal defense. At this point all it takes is ONE of them to say, let’s settle out of court, and bam, case history is made, and now you have solid grounds to hammer the city as well.
In cases like this with smug dictators, always sue them personally, along with the entity they represent, ie City, Police, Company etc etc. This way the person pays too, it makes them think twice about future actions, AND they can’t hide behind a large city’s budget to shield them. ie, if THEY did wrong, the city is going to very quickly, at their lawyers advice, distance itself from the person, because if they did wrong and it can be tied to the entity they work for, yah that’s a bad day for them. The city is NOT going to protect a person who may have just cost them many millions of dollars. THIS makes MANY think very carefully about what they allow their employees to get away with.
The biggest problem is getting lawyers to work WITH YOU, most of them are scum themselves and there is not much money in this, it’s not a cherry pick case with a lot of low hanging fruit to grab, the lawyer will actually have to do some work.. most do not like that at all.
I agree with you Ron–I don’t like folks disrupting events. Protest culture just rubs me the wrong way.
Go to the public square, March in a circle–and go home. No blocking of streets or tantrums. Like him or no MLK was dignified.