‘Commissioner Gibbs is being punished for participating in the grand design of American democracy…’
(Joshua Paladino, Liberty Headlines) Royal Oak City Commissioner Kim Gibbs attended the “Operation Gridlock” protests in Lansing, Michigan, and now the progressive majority on the city commission is trying to punish her, The Thomas More Law Center reported.
Gibbs, along with thousands of Michiganders, protested Gov. Gretchen Whitmer‘s executive decrees that shut down the state and arbitrarily restricted constitutional rights by jamming traffic, honking horns and wavering sounds around the state capitol.
The Royal Oak City Commission was set to vote Monday on a resolution to censure Gibbs and demand her resignation. With a 5-2 liberal majority on the Royal Oak City Commission, the censure appeared likely to succeed.
The Thomas More Law Center, which will represent Gibbs in any necessary lawsuits, said the attempt to censure Gibbs would violate her constitutional rights, specifically the rights guaranteed by the First and Fourteenth Amendments.
The resolution condemns Gibbs for traveling 90 miles to Lansing, participating in the protest, and walking on a public sidewalk without a face covering.
The city commission does not seem to explicitly claim that Gibbs violated any law or executive decree.
“Governor Whitmer recently publicly acknowledged the right to public demonstrations, but the Royal Oak Commission has not received the message,” Richard Thompson, TMLC’s president and chief counsel.
“There was no requirement to wear a mask at the time of the Lansing rally,” he said. “The latest Whitmer executive order requires wearing facemasks but only when in an enclosed area.”
Gibbs attended the protest in her private capacity and did not disclose her role as a Royal Oak city commissioner.
She did not willfully violate distancing mandates, and the Michigan State Police did not punish any citizens for violating Whitmer’s distancing orders.
“Commissioner Gibbs is being punished for participating in the grand design of American democracy,” Thompson said. “Neither the Governor nor the Royal Oak City Commission can suspend the United States Constitution.”