Federal lawsuit filed against Eastpointe mayor
Four Eastpointe citizens filed a federal lawsuit against Mayor Monique Owens Wednesday alleging their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights were violated when they were not allowed to speak during audience participation at a recent city council meeting.
Conor Fitzpatrick, attorney for the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Detroit on behalf of residents Mary Hall-Rayford, Karen Beltz, Karen Mouradjian, and Cynthia Federle.
“City council meetings are not supposed to be safe spaces for city officials,” said Fitzpatrick. “If residents are unhappy with what elected officials are doing, they are allowed to say so; city officials can’t shout down citizens if they don’t like that they are saying about them.”
During a Sept. 6 city council meeting Hall-Rayford, Beltz, Mouradjian and Federle each attempted to speak during the public comment portion of the agenda but were cut off from by Owens who indicated she would not allow any comments critical of her to be made.
Hall-Rayford, a member of the Eastpointe Schools Board of Trustees, was the first to speak that night and only said a few words before she was cut off by the mayor.
Hall-Rayford tried to ask for an opinion from City Attorney Richard Albright regarding the Open Meetings Act and the right of citizens to speak during meetings, but was interrupted again by Owens despite the other council members urging the mayor to allow Hall-Rayford to continue speaking.
“I’m going to have a point of order and I’m going to talk over you,” said Owens when she interrupted Hall-Rayford. “This is going to be one of those meetings like you’ve never seen before. You’re not going to disrespect people.”
Owens, who was seeking a personal protection order against Councilman Harvey Curley at the time, told residents she would not allow them to speak about “a police matter” even though none of them had mentioned the litigation but instead made complementary comments about Curley.
Owens’ request for the PPO was denied by a Macomb County Circuit Court judge in September.
The FIRE lawsuit alleges Sept. 6 was not the first time Owens has prevented her critics from speaking and expressing their viewpoints and states that she never stopped her supporters from praising her at any meeting.
“One of the cardinal rules of the First Amendment is that the government may not enforce laws based on if they like the views of the speaker,” said Fitzpatrick. “Silencing and shouting down her critics but letting people who praise her go on to speak unencumbered is censorship.
“FIRE is suing Owens to ensure that she no longer censors Eastpointers or tries to protect herself at the expense of the Constitution.”
After Albright advised Owens during the Sept. 6 meeting she should allow all residents to speak for their allotted three minutes, she continued to interrupt the citizens.
Mayor Pro Tem Sarah Lucido said she could not stand by and see residents being silenced and got up and left council chambers. Council members Curley, Cardi DeMonaco Jr. and Rob Baker followed suit.
Hall-Rayford said the residents approached FIRE about filing a lawsuit because they feel intimidated when they attend meetings and believe Owens has a pattern of violating the First Amendment rights of citizens.
“This is just a matter of right versus wrong,” said Hall-Rayford.
On Thursday, Fitzpatrick filed a motion seeking a preliminary injunction preventing Owens and the City of Eastpointe from prohibiting comments from residents that criticize the mayor or councilpersons or comments specifically regarding the conflict between Owens and Curley or any other police report.
“We are certainly not trying to stop her from being the mayor or participating in meetings,” said Fitzpatrick. “We are trying to stop her from using her authority in such a way that it discriminates against people who criticize her.”
The lawsuit is not asking for monetary relief other than attorney fees but seeks to ensure that residents feel safe and are allowed to speak their mind during meetings.