Judge Tosses ‘Objectively Outrageous’ Charge Against Arizona Mom Arrested For Speaking At City Meeting
On Wednesday, an Arizona judge dismissed the criminal case brought against a state resident who was arrested after criticizing her city government during a public meeting.
“The Defendant should not have faced criminal prosecution once for expressing her political views,” Justice of the Peace Gerald Williams wrote.
The entire saga began on Aug. 20, when resident Rebekah Massie spoke before the Surprise City Council during a public meeting. The Arizona mother was criticizing the conduct of the city attorney when she was abruptly cut off by Mayor Skip Hall, who accused her of “attacking” the city official “personally” and violating rules governing public meetings.
Massie claimed the rule was “unconstitutional” and that by limiting her testimony, the city was violating her First Amendment right to free speech. Following a short exchange of words, Hall called on a law enforcement official to have Massie removed from the meeting.
The Arizona mom was subsequently detained and charged with trespassing.
Writing on behalf of the Maricopa County Justice Courts, Williams dismissed the charge against Massie with prejudice, meaning the state cannot bring the case back to his court. The judge noted that “[n]o branch of any federal, state, or local government in this country should ever attempt to control the content of political speech,” and that, in Massie’s case, “the government did so in a manner that was objectively outrageous.”
“The Court agrees that she should never face criminal prosecution, for expressing her political views on that date at that time, again,” Williams wrote.
The Maricopa judge further described the “problems” with the rule cited by Hall before Massie was arrested, namely that the policy “regulated not just speech; but political speech” (emphasis original) and specifically the “content” of that political speech. As The Federalist reported, the Surprise City Council unanimously repealed the rule during its Sept. 17 meeting.
“For more than two months I’ve been living with the threat of punishment and jail time — being taken away from my kids, even — for doing nothing more than criticizing the government,” Massie said in a statement. “Free speech still matters in America, and I can’t tell you what a relief it is to have people on my side standing up for our rights with me.”
Massie filed a federal lawsuit against Surprise, Hall, and the officer who arrested her last month, in which she argued the city violated her First Amendment rights.
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
