Pandemic-era lawsuit over gun at Michigan Zoom meeting is settled for $100,000
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Monthly Digital Subscription
$1 per week for 24 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $4.00 plus GST every four weeks. After 24 weeks, price increases to the regular rate of $19.95 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
Monthly Digital Subscription
$4.99/week*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $19.95 plus GST every four weeks. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*Your next subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $16.99 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $23.99 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/05/2025 (319 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan county has settled a lawsuit over an elected official who flashed a rifle during a COVID-19-era public meeting on Zoom.
Patricia MacIntosh accused Ron Clous of trying to silence her right to free speech when he displayed the rifle during a 2021 meeting of Grand Traverse County commissioners.
The county last week approved a $100,000 deal with MacIntosh, the Traverse City Record-Eagle reported. Insurance will cover it. Clous, who is no longer a commissioner, also apologized.
“While not my intent, I understand that my actions in getting my rifle could reasonably have caused you to feel uncomfortable or intimidated, and for that, I apologize,” Clous wrote.
The incident occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic when the county board held public meetings over video conference. During the public comment period, MacIntosh had urged commissioners to make a statement opposing anti-government extremists, a few weeks after the U.S. Capitol riot.
That’s when Clous, a commissioner who was participating from home, left the screen and returned with a rifle.
After paying legal fees, MacIntosh said she might create a scholarship fund with the balance of the money.
She said she would not have sued if Clous had said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize how stupid this was.”