Southwest
Arizona mom arrested for questioning local government in front of 10-year-old daughter fights back
![Arizona mom arrested for questioning local government in front of 10-year-old daughter fights back Arizona mom arrested for questioning local government in front of 10-year-old daughter fights back](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/City-Council-Arrest_01.gif)
An Arizona mother hauled out of a city council meeting in handcuffs in front of her 10-year-old daughter last month is suing the city of Surprise and its mayor for violating her First Amendment rights.
Rebekah Massie, 32, is an active participant in government meetings and had previously spoken out about zoning changes. On Aug. 20, she had complaints about the city attorney’s salary.
Surprise Mayor Skip Hall cut her off minutes into her time on the podium, accusing her of “attacking the city attorney personally,” and told her that specifically criticizing any municipal employee or member of the council — regardless of whether it was by name — violated its policy, referring her to a note to that effect on the back of the council’s agenda.
FORMER DOCTOR ACCUSED OF ASSISTING NY WOMAN’S SUICIDE PLEADS GUILTY TO MANSLAUGHTER
Rebekah Massie, 32, is suing the city of Surprise, its mayor Skip Hall and one of its police officers for violating her First Amendment rights. (Christine Hillman Photography)
“I could get up here and I could swear at you for three straight minutes, and it is protected speech by the Supreme Court,” Massie shot back, as seen in video of the incident.
“Do you want to be escorted out of here? You’ve got to stop talking,” Hall told her.
Massie reiterated that the policy is unconstitutional, and in response, Hall called Surprise Police Officer Steven Shernicoff to escort her from the building. When Massie argued, telling the officer not to touch her, he placed her in handcuffs and removed her from the room.
Massie’s attorney, Conor Fitzpatrick with the Foundation of Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), said the woman was detained for at least two hours, given a “pretty invasive pat down” and fingerprinted — an ordeal that violated her Fourth Amendment rights, according to the lawsuit.
HARVARD, COLUMBIA RANK LAST IN NONPROFIT’S 2025 COLLEGE FREE SPEECH SCORECARD
![Rebekah Massie](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/1726035795_755_Arizona-mom-arrested-for-questioning-local-government-in-front-of.jpg)
Rebekah Massie’s arms were placed behind her back as she was escorted out of the Surprise City Council meeting by Officer Steven Shernicoff. (Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression)
Her daughter did not come with her to police headquarters, Fitzpatrick said, and she was not told of her daughter’s whereabouts throughout the ordeal.
She was also charged with trespassing. The status of that charge is unclear.
“Public officials are elected to serve the public, not silence them,” Fitzpatrick told Fox News Digital. “They might disagree with what the public has to say, there’s nothing in the law that says that they have to do whatever the public asks of them, but they do have to listen.”
FIRE, initially founded to file lawsuits against colleges and universities that stifled their students’ First Amendment rights, has also branched out to represent “mayors and chairs abusing their powers to silence and punish people who go to public meetings and say things they don’t like,” Fitzpatrick said, adding that these instances are “more common than they should be.”
SILICON VALLEY INVESTOR SAYS ELON MUSK SHOULD BE PROSECUTED FOR ‘UNDERMINING GOVT. THAT’S PAYING HIM’
![Rebekah Massie](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/1726035795_807_Arizona-mom-arrested-for-questioning-local-government-in-front-of.jpg)
Massie is suing Surprise, Arizona to remove its policy preventing residents from criticizing public officials at city council meetings. (Christine Hillman Photography)
In Michigan, the coalition took down Eastpointe’s former mayor Monique Owens after she repeatedly shouted down constituents who criticized her during public comment periods. Ultimately, the Detroit suburb agreed to stop enforcing their unconstitutional limitations on citizens’ free speech, passed a resolution apologizing to the plaintiffs in a lawsuit, paid each plaintiff over $17,000 and established Sept. 6 as the community’s “First Amendment Day,” according to FIRE and the Detroit Free Press.
But when speaking about Massie’s case, Fitzpatrick said FIRE has seen “nothing to this degree.”
The lawsuit names another Surprise resident, Quintus Schulzke, who regularly speaks out at council meetings.
“The rule here affects people beyond Rebekah — people like Quintus who usually participate, they saw what happened to Rebekah. They see this rule that is being enforced to cast a pall… It leads people to self-censor, to say, ‘I’m not going to a city counsel meeting, I could leave in handcuffs,’” Fitzpatrick told Fox News Digital.
“We’re showing the entire community of Surprise that the First Amendment needs to prevail at city council,” he continued. “A government cannot have a rule that says ‘in order to be heard, you must come to us with praise.’ That is not what the First Amendment is.
“Every American should know that they should feel free to go to their city council meetings and school board meetings and become involved,” Fitzpatrick said. “What happened to Rebekah isn’t OK, but the law is there to have her back. Every American that wants to get involved and participate in their government meetings, the First Amendment, will have their back, too.”
Hall did not respond to requests for comment on the impending lawsuit. Shernicoff could not immediately be reached for comment.
Read the full article from Here
![](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/np-logo.png)
Southwest
Colorado man found dead at Grand Canyon National Park, 7th fatality in past month
![Colorado man found dead at Grand Canyon National Park, 7th fatality in past month Colorado man found dead at Grand Canyon National Park, 7th fatality in past month](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/GC-copy.jpg)
A Colorado man on a multi-day trip was found dead over the weekend in the Grand Canyon National Park, officials said Monday.
The Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a call around 5:30 a.m. from someone reporting a death at Poncho’s Kitchen, near the Colorado River, the National Parks Service said.
Park rangers responded to the scene where Patrick Horton, 59, a resident of Salida, Colorado, who was on the tenth day of a non-commercial river trip along the Colorado River, was found by members of his party, the NPS said.
CO-WORKERS LEAVE COLORADO MAN BEHIND ON MOUNTAIN SUMMIT DURING OFFICE RETREAT
A Colorado man was found dead over the weekend at the Grand Canyon National Park, officials said. (National Park Service)
The National Park Service is conducting an investigation in coordination with the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the parks service. No manner or cause of death was provided.
Horton is believed to be the seventh person to die in the park in less than a month and the 14th this year. Park officials reported 11 fatalities in 2023 and said there are usually about 10 to 15 deaths per year.
MISSING CLIMBER IN GLACIER NATIONAL PARK FOUND DEAD AFTER SUFFERING APPARENT FALL
![Entrance sign for Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/1726061423_342_Colorado-man-found-dead-at-Grand-Canyon-National-Park-7th.jpg)
Entrance sign for Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. (Photo by: Jim Lane/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) (Jim Lane/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
The previous deaths include an 80-year-old man, who authorities say died in August on a commercial river trip after falling from a boat into the river near Fossil Rapid, and a 33-year-old woman who was also found that day after a flash flood swept her away while hiking Aug. 22.
A 20-year-old New Mexico woman was found Aug. 8 below Twin Overlooks; a 43-year-old Missouri man died Aug. 1 while attempting a prohibited BASE jump from Yavapai Point; and a 20-year-old North Carolina man fell to his death July 31 at the South Rim.
![The Colorado River near Thunder River Trail](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/1726061423_738_Colorado-man-found-dead-at-Grand-Canyon-National-Park-7th.jpg)
The body of a 60-year-old North Carolina man was found at the Grand Canyon National Park on Wednesday after he set off on the Thunder River Trail-Deer Creek loop. (NPS Photo/M. Graden)
Fox News Digital’s Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.
Read the full article from Here
Los Angeles, Ca
Live updates: Airport Fire burning in Orange and Riverside counties eclipses 22,000 acres
![Live updates: Airport Fire burning in Orange and Riverside counties eclipses 22,000 acres Live updates: Airport Fire burning in Orange and Riverside counties eclipses 22,000 acres](https://ktla.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/09/AP24254793837507.jpg?w=900)
The Airport Fire, which started in Orange County on Monday and spread to Riverside County has charred thousands of acres and forced several evacuations as of Wednesday morning.
Cal Fire stated that the wildfire has crossed the Ortega Highway and is “actively impinging upon structures in the area.”
Los Angeles, Ca
Man, 34, suspected of starting 33,000-acre Line Fire in custody
![Man, 34, suspected of starting 33,000-acre Line Fire in custody Man, 34, suspected of starting 33,000-acre Line Fire in custody](https://ktla.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/09/Line-Fire-AP-Smoke.jpg?w=900)
A 34-year-old man from San Bernardino County has been arrested in connection with the Line Fire, which has burned more than 33,000 acres since it ignited late last week.
Officials with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department say that Justin Wayne Hasltenberg is suspected of starting the fire on Sept. 5 in the area of Baseline Road and Alpin Street in Highland.
This story is currently being updated. Check back for additional details.
-
Politics1 week ago
Michigan becomes a top GOP Senate target as Mike Rogers ties with Dem opponent among older voters
-
World6 days ago
Meloni says 'we are making history' as Italy’s FDI reviews progress
-
World1 week ago
Taiwan court orders release of ex-Taipei mayor arrested in corruption probe
-
Politics1 week ago
Margin of error race between Harris and Trump as 2024 election enters final stretch
-
World1 week ago
Seven EU members hadn’t received any post-Covid funding by end-2023
-
Business1 week ago
How Self-Driving Cars Get Help From Humans Hundreds of Miles Away
-
World1 week ago
Israeli forces using ‘war-like’ tactics in occupied West Bank: OCHA
-
World1 week ago
Frontex chief: NGO rescue ships don't embolden Mediterranean migration