I need you to step out with me um I'm no you are under arrest do you understand that for What charges I just told you trespassing from the city council meeting doesn't matter it doesn't mean you can't be trespassed from here body cam footage was just released showing Rebecca Massie speaking at a city council meeting in Surprise Arizona she engaged in perfectly legal protected First Amendment speech but at the direction of Mayor Skip Hall she was illegally and unconstitutionally arrested and physically removed from the city council meeting I've got to interrupt you here because okay are you going to stop the timer this is the public meeting Forum that you agree to when you speak oral Communications during the city council meeting may not be used to Lodge charges or complaints again any employee of the city do you want to be escorted out of violating first talking Chief could you have somebody come down here and and escort Miss Massi is that necessary yes I in front of my 10-year-old daughter you're going to escort for expressing my First Amendment right I need you to step out with me um I'm no I'm expressing my do not touch me why am I being detained under What charges under What charges we're going into session go can they say yes you can speak at our city council meeting but you can't criticize us and then just make the citizens sign something saying they won't do that which is what happened here here the Supreme Court has made clear that one of the most precious Liberties safeguarded by the Bill of Rights is the sacred promise to every American enshrined in the first amendment that citizens enjoy the freedom to complain about their leaders but Surprise Arizona and its mayor Skip Hall broke that promise arresting Rebecca Massie in front of her 10-year-old daughter for criticizing a public official at a city council meeting in it's well documented on video on August 20th 2024 during the public comment portion of the surprise city council meeting Miss Massi spoke in opposition to a planned pay increase for surprises City attorney as we discussed earlier I have noticed an accompanying uh e session for this item to receive legal advice um so if you want to see receive legal advice I would request you vote to recess into e session very good uh before we do that I'd like to uh acknowledge the speaker who wanted to speak on item number four I believe the call to the public would you call the public yeah okay uh we had Miss Massie wanted to the call the public am I the only one yeah um so I'm going to take this time um the item that I had requested to speak on earlier was during the Kent agenda item number six is it pertains to the contract of employment for the City attorney in the contractual agreement with Mr Robert Wingo there is a stipulation that St that says he can renegotiate his pay rate for an exceptional job Cambridge University defines exceptional as something that is much greater than usual especially in skill intelligence quality Etc I.E what is not expected of somebody in a role I have concerns with allocating more funds to him specifically for a few different reasons Point number one is according to an article that was published in the surprise independent just shy of 12 months ago by Jason Stone um the City attorney is the second highest paid individual in the entirety of the city of surprise employees and at that time he was listed at making about $266,000 annually where this becomes important is he is 11th overall in the entire State and he actually only makes only $10,000 again at the time the article was printed less than the attorney in Scottsdale and Scottsdale has about 100,000 people larger than what surprise covers recent months have uncovered numerous violations or alleged violations and blatant disregard I would say for not only the Arizona revised statutes the State Bar rules of professional conduct but also the Arizona State Constitution and the Bill of Rights at the federal level um title 16 I I won't rehash everything but we are all too well and familiar with what took place during the election season and the violations thereof city clerk is our elections officer nothing was done with the violations and the City attorney did nothing as far as that title 9 and 38 have conflict of interest but mayor Hall interrupted her remarks scolding her for violating a city council policy prohibiting complaining about public officials pieces of information and it was deemed that there was a conflict of interest title 39 there are numerous public records requests that I have open right now that are quote pending legal review that I am entitled to request I've got to interrupt you here because okay are you going to stop the timer this is the public meeting Forum that you agree to when you speak and I want to read this to you that um there are oral Communications during the city council meeting may not be used to Lodge charges or complaints against any employee of the city City or members of the body regardless of whether such person is identified in the presentation by the name or by any other reference that tends to identify him or her that's all fine well and good but that's a VI violation of My First Amendment rights so that's well this is your warning okay warning for what a warning for attacking the City attorney personally Rebecca Massie insisted correctly that the First Amendment protected her comments mayor Hall didn't care responding do you want to be ES it out of here or are you going to stop talking Massie stood firm on her constitutional rights and demanded the opportunity to finish her remarks um this is all factual information it doesn't matter you're violating My First Amendment right this this is what you agree to when you for speaking this is the form it is unconstitutional mayor Hall well it's not unconstitutional is the Supreme Court has up I could get up here and I could swear at you for three straight minutes and it is protected speech by the sueme court it is why don't you look at case law no you can't I can so if you want to be also the chair is you want to be escorted out of here do you want to be escorted out of here you're violating My First Amendment rights talking you are violating My First Amendment rights that's your opinion it's not a matter of opinion do you want to be escorted out Miss Massie because that's what's going to happen and it's going to happen in the future also anytime you attack any that's why you CH the rules or any why you changed the rules this has been on the back of this form I understand mayor Hall but that is completely unconstitutional no it's not you're also engaging in debate and so you should actually be heing the floor to somebody else managing but she would never get the chance instead mayor Hall instructed a surprise police officer Steven shernoff to detain Massie and eject her from the room shernoff carried out Hall's unconstitutional order detaining and then arresting Massie in the city council chamber Chief could you have somebody come down here and and escort Miss Massi really is that necessary yes I in front of my 10-year-old daughter you're going to escort me out for expressing my person she can go with you she can go with you I'm not leaving well I need you to step out with me um I'm no okay I'm expressing my do not touch me do not put your hands on me can you just step out with me right now do not put your hands on me come on out do not put your hands on me come out with me now before you get arrested do you understand this are you detaining me yes do you understand why am I being detained under What charges under what charg is under what Char is okay so I'll I have personal I have you cannot me she can go out there okay uh all I'll entertain a motion to go into e session motion to go into e session second move second it all those in favor say I I we're going into e session let go of me stand up no I'm not standing up you are upsetting my daughter let go of my hand I do not give you permission to touch me I need you to stand up let I'm not standing up I have personal property over there why am I under arrest explain it to for trespassing for what purpose this is a meeting that is open to the public you were asked to please stop can you stand up I cannot because you have the handcuffs too tight and my pants are falling down and I'm not getting up ow 104 can you can you s me a keage unit over to the City Hall yeah I have a subject in custody for trespassing i c you want in custody can you uncuff me please I have hair in my mouth and I can't breathe sit down I can't breathe hold on these are not coming off of you I'm just going to lock these so that they don't get tighter on you I can't breath yeah that's 104 is it just you and your little girl here yeah have seat you can turn around and have a seat I can't breathe have a seat I have hair in my mouth and I canot breathe my mouth is ridiculous would you like me to pull the hair out of your mouth how's that can I have my water that my daughter had my it's still in you can't have anything right now so you're denying me water yes 431 go check on my daughter NOP you have any other adults here with her I do not no okay how do we get a hold of somebody she knows she knows how to get a hold of somebody she does I am requesting you I do not give you guys permission to have custody over my daughter we're not taking custody over your daughter how old is your daughter sit down I didn't tell you to move stay here my pants are falling down they're not going to go anywhere when you're sitting when you're sitting there your pants are not going to fall down I guarantee you you need to calm down take a not calm I already told you I couldn't breathe I know you're not calm that's the problem you need to take a couple deep breaths what was her alleged crime trespassing I'm probably just going to walk her across okay um you do not have permission to take my property I don't need your permission get that through your head yes you do you are under arrest do you understand that for What charges I just told you trespassing from the city council meeting doesn't matter it doesn't mean you can't be trespassed here but the only trespass on August 20th was against massie's constitutional rights surprise places a muzzle on its residents at City Council meetings imposing a policy that bars remarks leveling charges or complaints against any employee of the city or members of the body this criticism policy violates the First Amendment criticism of government is at the very center of the constitutionally protected area of free discussion that's Rosen blat versus bear US Supreme sueme Court 1966 after all speech concerning public affairs is more than just self-expression it is the essence of self-government that's Garrison versus Louisiana Supreme Court 1983 but when Massie exercised her constitutional right to criticize officials at a city council meeting a right high in the hierarchy of First Amendment values the council criticism policy and mayor Skip Hall ensured she left that meeting in handcuffs that might be how repressive regimes treat government critics but it's an affront to our constitution in the action of the town of surprise and mayor Skip Hall there is now a cloud of fear over the city and other people now fear criticizing surprise officials knowing that they now risk arrest when they exercise their constitutional rights mayor Hall pledged that anytime you attack any staff member or city official you'll be escorted out and he promised that's what's going to happen now and in the future Rebecca Massie has now brought a federal civil rights lawsuit to ensure that that doesn't happen and to hold the town and Skip Hall accountable for their violations of the constitution in fact everything I just said to you consist of the first nine paragraphs of that lawsuit which I'll post at the blog linked below she's being represented by the First Amendment advocacy group called the foundation for individual rights and expression in the complaint is fantastic I recommend that you read it it answers the question just perfectly about whether or not a town or a city can do this can they say yes you can speak at our city council meeting but you can't criticize us and then just make the citizens sign something saying they won't do that which is what happened here the complaint explains that Miss Massie operates something called the Grand failure a nonprofit organization that's critical of the government of the City of Surprise through the Grand failure which is a great name Massie operates a website the grandf failure. org publishing articles petitions and podcasts critical of the government of the city of surprise as they note in the lawsuit her comments here about the City attorney addressed issues within the jurisdiction of the city council they did not disrupt the city council meeting but before her 3 minutes had expired and while she was explaining her opposition to the proposed City attorney pay increase the mayor said I've got to interrupt you here here's the problem in a public body's public comment period content-based regulations are permissible only where they are Viewpoint neutral and enforced that way because Viewpoint discrimination is impermissible no matter the form Viewpoint discrimination is an egregious form of content discrimination and is presumptively unconstitutional here the council criticism policy prohibiting complaints about City officials and employees only permits two points of view that would be laudatory or neutral speech about public officials while forbidding a third point of view which would be critical speech about the same officials the council criticism policy therefore codifies Viewpoint discrimination and is unconstitutional under the First Amendment both on its face and as applied to public comments that are critical of government officials as here the complaint also makes a good point that the reaction of the mayor or city council members to public criticism cannot be the quote disruption that justifies restricting the speech of members of the public the loss of First Amendment freedoms for even minimal periods of time unquestionably constitutes irreparable injury according to the Supreme Court and here there are a number of constitutional claims that are asserted against the defendants this is an egregious case and I'm glad that the body cam footage was released I'm glad that this lawsuit is going forward I hope to continue to stay on top of this one and if you want to follow along Please Subscribe both here and at the blog at the civils lawyer.com you can also follow me on Twitter John Brian Esq also the civil rights lawyer there remember our rights don't end where your fear begins freedom is scary deal with it