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Apologies, as you probably didn’t want to start your week becoming enraged by blatant, Constitutional violations from elected officials. Unfortunately, that is exactly what this story is.

Government salaries are one of the largest expenses in how tax dollars are used and transparency is one of the best ways to avoid misuse of funds or corruption. This is why many states require PUBLIC salaries to be PUBLIC INFORMATION, and a public servant has no right to tell the PUBLIC otherwise. Additionally, the First Amendment is such a sacred amendment that elected officials are not to dictate what grievances residents make.

If an unhappy constituent wants to use the entirety of their public comment period, that’s political science 101. Anyone can literally curse their brains out, and a public servant has no right to stop that. However, knowledge of basic civics is not required to run for office, and one tyrant has proved to the world why Surprise, Arizona, is by no means the free speech capital of the world. The mayor had someone arrested for daring to speak out against a raise for the city manager.

According to Radio Free Hub City:

Rebekah Massie, a local resident and founder of “The Grand Failure” (a nonprofit dedicated to advocating for government transparency), used her allotted time during the public comment period to criticize the City Council’s decision to increase the salary of the city attorney. Massie also raised concerns about several ongoing issues she had experienced with the attorney, including delays in responding to her public information requests.

Mayor Skip Hall interrupted Massie, claiming that her comments violated the rules governing public participation. Specifically, Hall cited a section of the public speaking form, which states that “Oral communications during the City Council meeting may not be used to lodge charges or complaints against any employee of the City or members of the body.” The form instructs that such complaints should be submitted to the City Manager during regular business hours.

Whoa! The fact that the Council has indicated “rules” that “prevent” residents from lodging “complaints against any employee of the city or members of the body” is the literal antithesis of the First Amendment. The whole point of free speech is to limit the government, not the people. And the nerve of this man to claim someone is now allowed to “lodge complaints” against him or his employees is something only seen in a dictatorship.

Does he not realize the public has every right to hold these people accountable? Does he not realize his hurt feelings mean nothing to the Constitution? How can an elected mayor be this stupid?

He works for the public and has no right to dictate what can or cannot be said, as he is accountable to the people.

Just imagine telling your boss, “You are not allowed to lodge complaints against employees.” That is how dumb and pathetic this whole thing is.

Massie responded by asserting her First Amendment right to free speech. Despite her protest, Mayor Hall called for law enforcement to remove her from the meeting. A police officer detained Massie, physically restrained her, and escorted her out of the chamber. She was subsequently arrested and charged with third-degree criminal trespass, which implies unlawful presence on property after being asked to leave.

The fact that the city charged her with a fake “crime” is further proof of tyranny and how dare that officer violate her rights like that?! She was not disrupting the peace, the city was. She better sue these tyrants into oblivion, including the arresting officer who was “just following orders”.

The incident has raised concerns that Massie’s removal may have constituted a viewpoint or content-based restriction of speech, potentially violating her First Amendment rights. The First Amendment prohibits the government from restricting speech based on its content or the speaker’s viewpoint, and such actions by government officials can be subject to strict scrutiny in court.

The rules governing public participation at City Council meetings in Surprise are designed to maintain order and decorum. Among these rules is a prohibition against using public comments to make complaints against city employees or council members. However, the enforcement of this rule in Massie’s case has led to questions about whether the city’s actions improperly restricted her speech based on its content or viewpoint.

The council has to listen to all complaints, especially those they dislike, and the ONLY recourse they have is to resign. At best, they can implement “time, place, and manner” nonsense but this was the time, this was the place, and this was the manner. It was not even an un-agendized item, they literally approved the salary increase at that meeting and the fact that the mayor claimed she was not allowed to discuss it was a blatant misuse of public authority that was never granted to him.

Mayor Skip Hall must resign immediately and the city owes Massie and all Suprise residents an apology.

You can donate to Massie’s GoSendGo here to help sue these tyrants into oblivion.

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