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
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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
The support of my readers through the years has given me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Four years ago, just before the 2020 election I wrote that Joe Biden's mental health was suspect. Only in the past two weeks has the mainstream media decided to recognize that basic fact.
Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Even today NASA and Congress refuses to recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are five ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation:
5. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above. And if you buy the books through the ebookit links, I get a larger cut and I get it sooner.
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.