The exchange between Rebekah Massie and Surprise, Arizona Mayor Skip Hall was caught on camera.
Massie, identified as a Libertarian activist by The National Desk, is being represented by Adam Steinbaugh of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE).
"Rebekah did what responsible members of the community do when she went to her city council meeting,"
says Steinbaugh. "She was offering her opinion about city affairs and the city interpreted that as attacking the city attorney, by questioning whether or not he should get a pay raise, and the mayor told her to stop talking, and when she pointed out that she had a First Amendment right to make this argument the mayor had the police come and remove her from the room."
Video from the meeting showed that Massie noted a local newspaper article that identified City Attorney Robert Wingo as the second-highest-paid city employee.
Massie said the article listed Wingo’s salary before the raise at $266,000 annually and compared that to the city attorney in Scottsdale, an Arizona city which exceeds the population of Sunrise by 100,000. Wingo, before the increase, made only $10,000 less, Massie said.
Concerns from recent elections
Massie accused Wingo of violations of Arizona statutes, professional conduct relating to the state bar and the U.S. Bill of Rights. All of this related to Wingo’s handling allegations against the city clerk’s performance in recent elections.
Mayor Skip Hall ordered that Massie be arrested and removed from the meeting room.
When another city official noted the presence of Massie's young daughter, as she followed the officer and her mother, Hall said, "She can go out there."
This is a federal lawsuit, and AFN is seeking comment from the mayor.
Meanwhile, the city is still enforcing Massie’s removal. As a result, FIRE filed a motion asking the federal court to prevent the city from enforcing this policy while the lawsuit progresses.
"No American who goes and attends a public meeting should leave in handcuffs for offering her opinion," adds Steinbaugh. "Government officials are too often ignorant of the First Amendment and basic First Amendment principles, and it might be someone in a town called Surprise, Arizona who is getting arrested, but tomorrow, it might be someone down at your city hall who is getting arrested because officials don't have an incentive to pay attention to your First Amendment rights."
