Southwest
Arizona mom arrested for questioning local government in front of 10-year-old daughter fights back
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.
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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.
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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.”
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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
Events and protests were held in downtown Los Angeles Saturday on the one-year anniversary of one of the largest immigration enforcement actions in California.
One June 6, 2025, federal agents stormed the L.A. Fashion District, arresting and detaining dozens of workers.
The enforcement action served as a catalyst, igniting a wave of subsequent raids across Southern California. In response, city leaders affirmed their “unwavering commitment to the immigrant communities” in Los Angeles, as events were held throughout the city to remember those who were deported and those whose immigration cases remain unresolved.
Protesters advocating for immigrant communities gathered outside a federal detention center in downtown Saturday, waving flags and signs. One woman was arrested during a clash with police.
The initial raid in the L.A. Garment District swept up workers, including the father of one woman who described the experience as “one of the most traumatic experiences” of their lives. This operation was among the first deportation actions that resulted in families being separated and triggered days of civil unrest.
At a commemoration event, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass and the Executive Director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of L.A. stood together, vowing to protect immigrant communities living in fear.
“We all felt attacked, and I think what’s so critical today, is to know and remember and acknowledge that this is still going on every day,” Bass said.
While the Department of Homeland Security maintains that its enforcement operations target criminals, families of those detained argue that immigration enforcement terrorizes hardworking people. These families contend that many immigrants pay taxes and contribute to society, even if they are not U.S. citizens.
Immigration attorneys report that thousands of individuals are still trying to locate their loved ones. They also highlighted that hundreds of people swept up in immigration raids last year remain detained in facilities, facing medical neglect, inhumane conditions and the denial of basic due process protections.
Watch the full report from KTLA’s Sara Welch in the video at the top of this story.
All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KTLA. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat information into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KTLA staff before being published.
Los Angeles, Ca
Pasadena motorist knocked unconscious in unprovoked assault after other driver flashes high beams at him
A motorist was rendered unconscious after what authorities are calling an unprovoked attack that occurred after another driver flashed their high beams at him, authorities say.
According to the Pasadena Police Department, the victim, a 63-year-old man, was driving northbound on Raymond Avenue near Washington Boulevard when a vehicle traveling in the opposite direction flashed him around 1 a.m. Saturday.
“The victim reported that he was driving northbound on Raymond Avenue from Washington Boulevard when he observed a vehicle traveling southbound flashing its high beams at him,” a Pasadena Police Department spokesperson confirmed to KTLA. “The victim stated he stopped his vehicle and exited. He was then assaulted by an unknown suspect. The assault was unprovoked.”
The attack left the man unconscious and with a three-inch deep laceration to his head, police added. Upon regaining consciousness, the man transported himself to Huntington Hospital, and it was around 1:20 a.m. when police responded there to a report of an assault with a deadly weapon and began their investigation.
Upon arriving at the hospital, the victim told police that, due to his injuries, he was not able to provide a description of a suspect, vehicle or the weapon used, nor was he able to tell police the exact location where the assault occurred, although it was confirmed to be somewhere near Raymond Avenue and Washington Boulevard. La Pintoresca Park is located near that intersection.
No further details were immediately available.
Anyone with any information on the incident is asked to contact the Pasadena Police Department right away.
Sofia Pop Perez contributed to this report.
A woman was struck and killed by a driver while crossing the street on Pacific Coast Highway in Long Beach.
On June 3, the female pedestrian was using the crosswalk at Pacific Coast Highway and Pacific Avenue around 4:50 a.m.
She had walked against a red light and was hit by a 19-year-old driver in a Chevy sedan, Long Beach police said.
Despite lifesaving efforts, the woman was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver remained at the scene and is cooperating with the investigation.
“At this time, impaired driving, distracted driving and excessive speed are not believed to be a factor in this collision,” police said.
The woman’s name is being withheld pending identification by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner.
Anyone who witnessed the crash or has information on the incident is asked to call Detective Joseph Johnson at 562-570-7355.
Anonymous tips can be provided to L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at lacrimestoppers.org.
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