The community of Surprise, Arizona, has become a First Amendment battlefield after its mayor last week had an activist arrested, claiming city rules forbade her to voice a complaint in public.
“I have certain inalienable rights, and they were not only trampled on, but the mayor essentially weaponized the police force to shut me up that night,” Rebekah Massie said, according to KPNX.
Massie, 32, was charged with suspicion of trespassing, a class 3 misdemeanor, and class 1 misdemeanor charges of resisting arrest and obstructing government operations, according to the Arizona Republic.
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As shown in a post on X, Mayor Skip Hall interrupted Massie, telling her that the city’s rules for the public comment part of city council meetings ban complaints about individual city employees.
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