{"id":2359112,"date":"2024-10-24T15:54:01","date_gmt":"2024-10-24T19:54:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-tosses-case-against-az-mom-arrested-for-speaking-in-meeting\/"},"modified":"2024-10-24T15:55:02","modified_gmt":"2024-10-24T19:55:02","slug":"judge-tosses-case-against-az-mom-arrested-for-speaking-in-meeting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-tosses-case-against-az-mom-arrested-for-speaking-in-meeting\/","title":{"rendered":"Judge Tosses Case Against AZ Mom Arrested For Speaking In Meeting"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fjudge-tosses-case-against-az-mom-arrested-for-speaking-in-meeting%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2359112&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>An Arizona judge \u200chas dismissed the criminal charges against Rebekah Massie, a mother who was arrested \u200bfor \u200dexpressing her political views during a public meeting of the Surprise City Council. The incident occurred on August 20, when Massie criticized the city attorney and was cut off by the mayor, who \u200baccused her of violating meeting rules. Following a brief \u200dexchange, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/iowa-governor-kim-reynolds-blasts-leftist-protesters-for-trying-to-interrupt-desantis-during-event\/\" title=\"Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds criticizes leftist protesters for attempting to disrupt DeSantis&#039; event.\">law enforcement removed<\/a> her from the meeting, and she was subsequently \u200dcharged with trespassing.<\/p>\n<p>Judge Gerald\u2062 Williams ruled that Massie should\u2062 not have faced prosecution for her speech, describing the\u2062 government&#8217;s actions \u200cas &#8220;objectively outrageous.&#8221; He \u200cemphasized that no government entity should control political\u2062 speech and dismissed the case \u200cwith prejudice, preventing further prosecution. The judge \u200calso identified flaws\u2062 in the city&#8217;s\u2064 <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">rules governing public speeches<\/a>, noting they \u200brestricted not just any speech, but specifically political discourse.<\/p>\n<p>In response to\u2064 the dismissal, Massie expressed\u2062 relief, \u200bhighlighting the importance of free\u2064 speech rights in America. She has since\u2062 filed a federal \u200dlawsuit against the \u200bcity, alleging violations of her \u2062First Amendment \u2062rights. The\u2064 city of Surprise has since repealed the controversial rule that led\u2062 to her arrest.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=46qVLuEeaak\">  Arizona&#8217;s Family (3TV \/ CBS 5) \/YouTube<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/10\/24\/judge-tosses-objectively-outrageous-charge-against-arizona-mom-arrested-for-speaking-at-city-meeting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Judge%20Tosses%20%E2%80%98Objectively%20Outrageous%E2%80%99%20Charge%20Against%20Arizona%20Mom%20Arrested%20For%20Speaking%20At%20City%20Meeting&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/10\/24\/judge-tosses-objectively-outrageous-charge-against-arizona-mom-arrested-for-speaking-at-city-meeting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Judge%20Tosses%20%E2%80%98Objectively%20Outrageous%E2%80%99%20Charge%20Against%20Arizona%20Mom%20Arrested%20For%20Speaking%20At%20City%20Meeting&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/10\/24\/judge-tosses-objectively-outrageous-charge-against-arizona-mom-arrested-for-speaking-at-city-meeting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/10\/24\/judge-tosses-objectively-outrageous-charge-against-arizona-mom-arrested-for-speaking-at-city-meeting\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Judge%20Tosses%20%E2%80%98Objectively%20Outrageous%E2%80%99%20Charge%20Against%20Arizona%20Mom%20Arrested%20For%20Speaking%20At%20City%20Meeting&amp;body=An%20Arizona%20judge%20dismissed%20the%20criminal%20case%20brought%20against%20a%20state%20resident%20who%20was%20for%20speaking%20at%20a%20public%20meeting.%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/10\/24\/judge-tosses-objectively-outrageous-charge-against-arizona-mom-arrested-for-speaking-at-city-meeting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The Defendant should not have faced criminal prosecution once for expressing her political views,&rdquo; Justice of the Peace Gerald Williams <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefire.org\/research-learn\/arizona-v-massie-ruling-motion-dismiss-maricopa-county-justice-courts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-30dd9d94e75d596517509ec7f28ef00f fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-30dd9d94e75d596517509ec7f28ef00f\"><\/div>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/court-democrat-secretary-of-state-cant-hide-maines-voter-rolls-from-watchdog-group\/\" title=\"Court: Maine&#039;s Democrat Secretary of State cannot conceal voter rolls from watchdog group\">entire saga began<\/a> on Aug. 20, when resident Rebekah Massie spoke before the Surprise City Council during a public meeting. The Arizona mother was <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/08\/29\/first-amendment-group-says-it-plans-to-support-arizona-resident-arrested-for-speaking-at-city-meeting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">criticizing<\/a> the conduct of the city attorney when she was abruptly cut off by Mayor Skip Hall, who accused her of &ldquo;attacking&rdquo; the city official &ldquo;personally&rdquo; and violating&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/radiofreehubcity.com\/2024\/08\/25\/surprise-arizona-resident-detained-during-council-meeting-raising-first-amendment-concerns\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">rules<\/a>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/free-speech-group-says-it-plans-to-sue-az-city-over-arrest\/\" title=\"Free Speech Group Says It Plans To Sue AZ City Over Arrest\">governing public meetings<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Massie claimed the rule was &ldquo;unconstitutional&rdquo; 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.<\/p>\n<p>The Arizona mom was subsequently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefire.org\/news\/justice-judge-throws-out-criminal-charge-against-arizona-mom-arrested-criticizing-city\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">detained and charged<\/a> with trespassing.<\/p>\n<p>Writing on behalf of the Maricopa County Justice Courts, Williams dismissed the charge against Massie with prejudice, meaning the state <a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.cornell.edu\/wex\/with_prejudice\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">cannot<\/a> bring the case back to his court. The judge noted that &ldquo;[n]o branch of any federal, state, or local government in this country should ever attempt to control the content of political speech,&rdquo; and that, in Massie&rsquo;s case, &ldquo;the government did so in a manner that was objectively outrageous.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-cd48593624da0183f0431b5f0499fa28 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-cd48593624da0183f0431b5f0499fa28\"><\/div>\n<p>&ldquo;The Court agrees that she should never <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-exclusive-system-glitch-also-uncovered-in-wisconsin-reversal-of-swapped-votes-removes-lead-from-joe-biden\/\" title=\"BREAKING EXCLUSIVE: System &#039;Glitch&#039; Also Uncovered In Wisconsin - Reversal of Swapped Votes Removes Lead from Joe Biden\">face criminal prosecution<\/a>, for expressing her political views on that date at that time, again,&rdquo; Williams wrote. <\/p>\n<p>The Maricopa judge further described the &ldquo;problems&rdquo; with the rule cited by Hall before Massie was arrested, namely that the policy &ldquo;regulated not just speech; but <em><strong>political<\/strong><\/em>  speech&rdquo; (emphasis original) and specifically the &ldquo;content&rdquo; of that political speech. As The Federalist reported, the Surprise City Council unanimously <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/09\/18\/arizona-city-repeals-speech-ban-that-got-mom-dragged-out-of-council-meeting-after-criticizing-officials\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">repealed<\/a> the rule during its Sept. 17 meeting.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;For more than two months I&rsquo;ve been living with the threat of punishment and jail time &mdash; being taken away from my kids, even &mdash; for doing nothing more than criticizing the government,&rdquo; Massie said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefire.org\/news\/justice-judge-throws-out-criminal-charge-against-arizona-mom-arrested-criticizing-city\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">statement<\/a>. &ldquo;Free speech still matters in America, and I can&rsquo;t tell you what a relief it is to have people on my side standing up for our rights with me.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Massie filed a <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/09\/04\/arizona-mom-sues-city-over-unconstitutional-public-meeting-rule-used-to-arrest-her\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">federal lawsuit<\/a> against Surprise, Hall, and the officer who arrested her last month, in which she argued the city violated her First Amendment rights.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-fe9b13819760e72664e65db2707db168 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-fe9b13819760e72664e65db2707db168\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-70f188a72dc47324383481ab77d66166 fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-70f188a72dc47324383481ab77d66166\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      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<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Shawn Fleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShawnFleetwood\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\" rel=\"noopener\">@ShawnFleetwood<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/shawnfleetwood\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/arizona\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Arizona<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/city-council\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">city council<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/court-ruling\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">court ruling<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/criminal-case\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">criminal case<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/first-amendmenrt\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">First Amendmenrt<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/foundation-for-individual-rights-and-expression\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/free-speech\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">free speech<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/rebekah-massie\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Rebekah Massie<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/skip-hall\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Skip Hall<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/surprise\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Surprise<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/trespassing\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">trespassing<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An Arizona judge dismissed a criminal case against a resident arrested for criticizing her city government at a public meeting<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2359113,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Rebekah-Massie.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[5175,43661,5387,4470,43660],"class_list":["post-2359112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-arrest","tag-az-mom","tag-judge","tag-meeting","tag-tosses-case"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Rebekah-Massie.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2359112","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2359112"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2359112\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2359113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2359112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2359112"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2359112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}