A Zoom meeting, a rifle, and a public comment about the Proud Boys at a Grand Traverse County commissioners meeting in 2021 ended in an agreement to shell out $100,000 to settle a federal lawsuit. It stemmed from an incident where then- Commissioner Ron Clous decided the best response to a constituent’s concern was to briefly leave a virtual meeting and return with a semi-automatic rifle.
The incident happened just two weeks after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, when public nerves were raw, and Zoom meetings were the norm thanks to COVID-19 protocols. Local resident Patricia “Keli” MacIntosh asked the commissioners to denounce the far-right Proud Boys – who had spoken at a county meeting the previous year in support of a “Second Amendment Sanctuary” resolution.
