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Tag: Dana Nessel

  • Nessel challenges fast-tracked DTE data center deal, citing risks to ratepayers and lack of public scrutiny – Detroit Metro Times

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    Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is urging state utility regulators to reconsider their approval of special power contracts for a massive data center planned in Washtenaw County, warning the fast-tracked decision could leave electric customers exposed to higher costs.

    Nessel announced Friday that her office filed a petition for rehearing with the Michigan Public Service Commission over its Dec. 18 decision to conditionally approve two special contracts sought by DTE Energy to serve a proposed 1.4-gigawatt hyperscale artificial intelligence data center in Saline Township.

    The project, tied to Oracle, OpenAI, and developer Related Digital, would be among the largest data centers in the country and is expected to consume as much electricity as nearly one million homes. Its scale has caused concerns among residents, environmental advocates, and consumer watchdogs about long-term impacts on electric rates, grid reliability, and the environment.

    Nessel’s move also pits her against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a fellow Democrat who has publicly backed the data center as “the largest economic project in Michigan history.” Whitmer celebrated the project when it was announced last fall, citing thousands of construction jobs and hundreds of permanent positions. 

    On Thursday, U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive Democrat, released what he called “terms of engagement” aimed at protecting communities from higher utility bills, grid strain, and environmental harm tied to data centers.

    At least 15 data center projects have been proposed across the state in the past year.

    The split among Democrats is part of a broader debate over whether Michigan should keep fast-tracking energy-hungry data center projects tied to the AI boom.

    In her petition, Nessel challenges the commission’s authority to approve the contracts behind closed doors without holding a contested case hearing that would allow discovery, sworn testimony, and full public review. She also questions whether the conditions imposed by the commission are meaningful or enforceable.

    In a statement Friday, the Michigan Public Service Commission said it “looks forward to considering Nessel’s petition for rehearing,” but the commission “unequivocally rejects any claim that these contracts were inadequately reviewed.”

    The commission said its professional staff, advisory staff, and commissioners were provided with unredacted versions of the special contracts and reviewed them thoroughly to ensure existing customers are protected. The commission said its order recognizes DTE’s legal obligation to serve the data center while imposing what it described as the strongest consumer protections for a data center power contract in the country.

    The attorney general is seeking clarification on how those conditions would protect ratepayers, noting that many appear to rely on repeated assurances from DTE, rather than concrete commitments backed by evidence. Nessel also objected to the commission allowing DTE to serve as the project’s financial backstop, rather than requiring the data center operator to provide sufficient collateral to cover potential risks.

    “I remain extremely disappointed with the Commission’s decision to fast-track DTE’s secret data center contracts without holding a contested case hearing,” Nessel said in a statement. “This was an irresponsible approach that cut corners and shut out the public and their advocates. Granting approval of these contracts ex parte serves only the interests of DTE and the billion-dollar businesses involved, like Oracle, OpenAI, and Related Companies, not the Michigan public the Commission is meant to protect. ”

    She said the commission’s approval process served the interests of DTE and the companies behind the project rather than Michigan residents.

    “The Commission imposed some conditions on DTE to supposedly hold ratepayers harmless, but these conditions and how they’ll be enforced remain unclear,” Nessel said. “As Michigan’s chief consumer advocate, it is my responsibility to ensure utility customers in this state are adequately protected, especially on a project so massive, so expensive, and so unprecedented.”

    Large portions of the contracts remain heavily redacted, preventing outside parties from verifying DTE’s claims that serving the data center will not raise rates for existing customers. Nessel said a contested case is necessary to review the full contracts, assess affordability claims, and confirm that protections, such as collateral requirements and exit fees are in place.

    The commission ordered DTE to formally accept its conditions within 30 days of its Dec. 18 order. Nessel said that timeline complicates decisions about whether further legal challenges are necessary, prompting her office to file the rehearing petition in part to preserve its arguments.

    The power contracts are one piece of a larger controversy surrounding the Saline Township project referred to as “Project Stargate.” Residents and environmental groups have raised alarms about wetlands destruction, water contamination risks, and the permanent transformation of a rural farming community.

    More than 5,000 public comments opposing the data center power deal were submitted to the commission ahead of its December vote. Critics argue the rush to approve the contracts is part of a broader pattern as deep-pocketed utilities and developers seek to capitalize on the AI boom, which is driving a nationwide surge in electricity demand from large-scale data centers.

    “As my office continues to review all potential options to defend energy customers in our state, we must demand further clarity on what protections the Commission has put in place and continue to demand a full contested case concerning these still-secret contracts,” Nessel said.


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    Steve Neavling

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  • Michigan judge tosses case against 15 accused fake electors for President Trump in 2020

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    A Michigan judge dismissed criminal charges Tuesday against a group of people who were accused of attempting to falsely certify President Donald Trump as the winner of the 2020 election in the battleground state, a major blow to prosecutors as similar cases in four other states have been muddied with setbacks.

    District Court Judge Kristen D. Simmons said in a court hearing that the 15 Republicans accused will not face trial. The case has dragged through the courts since Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat, announced the charges over two years ago.

    Each member of the group, which included a few high-profile members of the Republican Party in Michigan, faced eight charges of forgery and conspiracy to commit election forgery. The top felony charges carried a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison.

    Investigators said the group met at the Michigan GOP headquarters in December of 2020 and signed a document falsely stating they were the state’s “duly elected and qualified electors.” President Joe Biden won Michigan by nearly 155,000 votes, a result confirmed by a GOP-led state Senate investigation in 2021.

    Electors are part of the 538-member Electoral College that officially elects the president of the United States. In 48 states, electors vote for the candidate who won the popular vote. In Nebraska and Maine, elector votes are awarded based on congressional district and statewide results.

    One man accused in the Michigan case had the charges against him dropped after he agreed to cooperate with the state attorney general’s office in October 2023. The other 15 defendants pleaded not guilty and have maintained that their actions were not illegal.

    Judge Simmons took nearly a year to say whether there was sufficient evidence to bring the cases to trial following a series of lengthy preliminary hearings.

    Prosecutors in Nevada, Georgia, Wisconsin and Arizona have also filed criminal charges related to the fake electors scheme. None of the cases have neared the trial stage and many have been bogged down by procedural and appellate delays.

    In Nevada, the state attorney general revived a case against a group of allegedly fake electors last year, while a judge in Arizona ordered a similar case back to a grand jury in May. In Wisconsin last month, a judge declined to dismiss felony charges against three Trump allies connected to a plan to falsely cast electoral ballots for Trump even though Biden won the state in 2020.

    The Georgia prosecution is essentially on hold while Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in Atlanta, who brought the charges against President Trump and others appeals her removal from the case. Technically, Trump is still a defendant in the case, but as the sitting president, it is highly unlikely that any prosecution against him could proceed while he’s in office.

    The effort to secure fake electors was central to the federal indictment against Trump that was abandoned earlier this year shortly before Trump took office for his second term.

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  • State AG urged to investigate how popular Detroit Democrat avoided mandatory jail time for third DUI

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    AP Photo/Paul Sancya

    Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy is under fire for her office’s handling of a third drunk driving case against Wayne County Commissioner Jonathan Kinloch.

    Local activist Robert Davis is calling on Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel to investigate how Wayne County Commissioner Jonathan Kinloch dodged a mandatory jail sentence after pleading guilty to his third drunk driving offense in 2005.

    In a letter sent Thursday to Nessel’s office, Davis argued that the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office “blatantly failed” to enforce a plea agreement that required Kinloch to serve 30 days in jail in 2005. Instead, Kinloch was released from six months of non-reporting probation in early 2006 without serving the mandatory time.

    “The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office’s blatant failure to enforce the sentencing agreement and plea agreement constitutes misconduct,” Davis wrote. “The Attorney General must investigate and take supervisory control due to misconduct committed by the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office in Kinloch’s felony DUI case.”

    Davis pointed to court records showing that then-Circuit Court Judge Vonda Evans approved a probation officer’s unusual request to discharge Kinloch early and eliminate his 30-day jail requirement. When the prosecutor’s office belatedly sought to enforce the sentence in 2007, Evans granted the request. But no one followed through, and Kinloch never went to jail.

    “Despite Judge Evans’ January 9, 2008 Opinion and Order GRANTING the Wayne County Prosecutor’s motion to enforce the sentencing agreement, since that order’s entry, the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office has NEVER sought to enforce the sentencing agreement and plea agreement that required Mr. Kinloch to serve 30-days in the Wayne County Jail,” Davis wrote.

    In a statement to Metro Times on Friday, the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office spokesperson Maria Miller said, “Prosecutor [Kym] Worthy will not dignify the request with a response.”

    A spokesperson for the Michigan Attorney General’s Office said in a statement Friday that the case is best handled by Wayne County prosecutors unless Davis files a former complaint that alleges criminal wrongdoing.

    “As this matter was handled by the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, I must refer you to that office for further insights into the handling of this case,” AG spokesperson Danny Wimmer said. “If Mr. Davis intends to allege specific criminal wrongdoing, I believe he is aware of the process to formally file a criminal complaint with this department.”

    The case resurfaced last month when Metro Times reported that Kinloch, a powerful Detroit Democrat, never served jail time. Prosecutors at the time acknowledged the problem but let the issue quietly drop after media scrutiny faded.

    In the letter, Davis noted that then-Assistant Prosecutors Paul Bernier and Jeffrey Caminsky urged Wayne County Circuit Judge Vonda R. Evans to enforce the jail sentence. It’s unclear what became of those requests, and Metro Times couldn’t immediately reach Bernier or Caminsky.

    Kinloch, 56, has long been a fixture in Detroit politics. He was appointed to the Wayne County Board of Commissioners in 2021 and won a four-year term the following year. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan named him to the Board of Water Commissioners in 2018, a position he still holds. He also serves as chairman of the Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority, is vice chair of the Michigan Democratic Party, and heads the Democratic Party’s 13th Congressional District. Over the years he has also sat on the Wayne County Housing Commission, the Detroit Library Commission, the Wayne County Board of Canvassers, and the county’s planning and development department.

    Kinloch is also the brother of Solomon Kinoch, pastor of Triumph Church, who is running for mayor in the general election against City Council President Mary Sheffield.

    In an interview last month, Kinloch told Metro Times he pulled no strings and that the probation department recommended his release from jail.

    “It was a scary time, and it was 20 years ago, and I did everything the court required of me,” Kinloch said.

    In his letter to the AG’s office, Davis alleged “Kinloch has bragged openly about how his political connections and influence allowed him not to serve the mandatory 30-day jail sentence.”

    Metro Times couldn’t immediately reach Kinloch for a response.

    Davis recently sued Detroit police and Wayne County prosecutors after both failed to timely disclose records about the case under the Freedom of Information Act.

    Last month, a Detroit man alleged wrongdoing after prosecutors dismissed a case against a woman accused of falsely accusing her daughter’s father of molesting her child. The ex-partner, Taylor Clark, is the granddaughter of retired Wayne County Circuit Judge Michael Hathaway, whose cousin Richard Hathaway is the chief assistant at the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office. Clark lives with Michael Hathaway in a luxury apartment in Royal Oak, according to court records. She has resided with the former judge since she was 15, according to her ex-partner, who asked not to be identified because of the severity of the allegations that Clark leveled against him.

    Worthy said she had been unaware of the allegations and would recuse her office from the case. But she denied that any of the Hathaways were involved in dismissing the case.

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    Steve Neavling

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  • Double voting scandal hits Macomb County as 4 face felony charges

    Double voting scandal hits Macomb County as 4 face felony charges

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    Mark Bialek/ZUMA Press Wire

    Supporters react as they listen to Donald Trump’s speech live on the radio outside of Drake Enterprises, an automotive supplier in Clinton Township in Macomb County.

    Macomb County, a hotbed of Trump supporters who often decry voter fraud, has found itself at the center of a real voter fraud case.

    Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel on Friday announced felony charges against three assistant clerks and four St. Clair Shores residents who are accused of illegally double voting in the 2024 August primary election.

    While Trumpers have long claimed without evidence that voter fraud is rampant, it turns out this case of actual fraud happened right in the heart of Macomb County, a former Democratic stronghold where white angst has spawned a conservative, pro-Trump movement.

    Nessel filed the charges after Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido, among the staunchest and most vocal Trump supporters in Michigan, decided not to in August.

    The charges stem from allegations that the residents voted twice, and the assistant clerks illegally altered voter records to cover it up.

    The four residents — Frank Prezzato, 68; Stacy Kramer, 56; Douglas Kempkins, Jr., 44; and Geneva O’Day, 62 — face charges of voting both absentee and in-person, which is a violation of state election laws. Each resident has been charged with one count of voting absentee and in-person, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison, and one count of offering to vote more than once, which carries a maximum penalty of four years.

    The three assistant clerks — Patricia Guciardo, 73; Emily McClintock, 42; and Molly Brasure, 31 — are accused of altering the State Qualified Voter File to show that the absentee ballots cast by the four residents were rejected, even though the ballots had been received and counted. This falsification allowed the four residents to cast in-person ballots, which were also counted, resulting in double votes. The assistant clerks face multiple felony charges, including falsifying election returns or records, voting absentee and in-person, and offering to vote more than once.

    “Despite common talking points by those who seek to instill doubt in our electoral process, double voting in Michigan is extremely rare,” Nessel, a Democrat, said. “There are procedures in place to ensure this does not happen and that is why it so rarely does. It took a confluence of events and decisions to allow these four people to double vote. Nevertheless, the fact that four incidents occurred in a municipality of this size raised significant concerns and is simply unheard of.”

    The alleged fraud came to light when the four residents appeared at polling locations in St. Clair Shores and were informed that their absentee ballots had already been received. Despite warnings in the electronic poll book, which tracks voter data, poll workers were allegedly instructed by the assistant clerks to override the system warnings and issue in-person ballots. Both absentee and in-person ballots were ultimately counted, leading to double voting.

    The suspected fraud was reported after the primary election by St. Clair Shores Clerk Abrial Barret, who raised concerns with Macomb County Clerk Anthony Forlini, the St. Clair Shores Police Department, and the state Bureau of Elections.

    Nessel said the charges are a reminder of the importance of safeguarding election integrity.

    “My office has been committed to pursuing, investigating and, when necessary, charging, cases of election fraud, and have done so when the evidence provides for criminal charges,” Nessel said. “Election integrity matters, and we must take these violations seriously in order to ensure we can trust the results on the other end.”

    The defendants have been charged in the 40th District Court in St. Clair Shores, and arraignment dates have yet to be set.

    This case marks a rare instance of election fraud involving both voters and election officials in Michigan.

    Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson applauded the charges.

    “Voting more than once is illegal,” Benson, a Democrat, said. “Anyone who tries to vote multiple times in an election will get caught and they will be charged.”

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    Steve Neavling

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  • Michigan AG not investigating illegal destruction of Wayne County prosecutor files

    Michigan AG not investigating illegal destruction of Wayne County prosecutor files

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    Steve Neavling

    The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office is now located at the new Wayne County Criminal Justice Center in Detroit.

    Thousands of files belonging to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office were illegally destroyed, but a week after Metro Times reported on the unlawful purge, the Michigan Attorney General’s Office says it is not investigating the case.

    The destruction of prosecutor files has made it exceedingly difficult for wrongfully convicted inmates to demonstrate their innocence.

    Between 2001 and 2004, while Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan was prosecutor, most if not all misdemeanor and felony records from 1995 and earlier were removed from an off-site warehouse and destroyed, according to Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy. During that time, Attorney General Dana Nessel worked in the prosecutor’s office. 

    Duggan adamantly denies he was involved.

    In Michigan, prosecutors are required to retain the files of defendants serving life sentences for at least 50 years or until the inmate dies. Violating the law carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison.

    It’s not entirely clear why Nessel’s office isn’t investigating, but a spokesman says no complaints have been filed.

    “Our department does not have an active investigation into the matter,” Danny Wimmer, spokesperson for Nessel, told Metro Times in a statement Tuesday. “I am unaware of any criminal complaint or request to investigate being filed with or referred to our office.”

    Wimmer has not yet responded to Metro Times’s follow-up questions.

    Any Michigan resident can file a complaint about the destruction of records by filling out this form on the Michigan Attorney General’s website.

    Nessel’s office investigated Duggan’s administration in the past but declined to file charges. In October 2019, the Detroit Office of the Inspector General (OIG) said top officials in Duggan’s administration ordered the deletion of emails related to the nonprofit Make Your Date, which was run by the mayor’s now-wife. But Nessel declined to file charges in April 2021, saying the “facts and evidence in this case simply did not substantiate criminal activity.”

    More than two dozen prisoners interviewed by Metro Times say they are innocent, but the destruction of the prosecutor’s files has severely hindered their ability to get a new trial.

    The file purge involved records from a deeply problematic period in Detroit’s Homicide Division when rampant misconduct, coerced confessions, and constitutional violations by police, particularly homicide detectives, were so widespread that the U.S. Department of Justice intervened, pressing for reforms to avoid a costly lawsuit in the early 2000s. This era of misconduct led to a significant number of wrongful convictions and false confessions, evidenced by a surge in exonerations and court settlements.

    Legal experts say many innocent people remain incarcerated, but the destruction of the prosecutor’s files has compromised many of their cases, leaving some prisoners without a clear path to proving their innocence.

    Eugene McKinney, a 54-year-old Detroiter who has been in prison since he was convicted of arson and first-degree murder in 1997, says he has compelling evidence to prove he’s innocent. But without the prosecutor’s files, he says, he has little recourse.

    Someone needs to be held accountable for the file purge, McKinney says.

    “They need to be prosecuted because they are withholding some important evidence that could exonerate me,” McKinney says from Gus Harrison Correctional Facility in Adrian.

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  • Tlaib slams Nessel for targeting pro-Palestinian students at U-M: ‘A dangerous precedent’

    Tlaib slams Nessel for targeting pro-Palestinian students at U-M: ‘A dangerous precedent’

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    U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib delivered a speech in Dearborn in February, urging Democrats to vote “uncommitted” in the presidential primary election to protest President Joe Biden’s support of Israel.

    U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib sharply criticized Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel for filing charges against pro-Palestinian protesters at the University of Michigan on Thursday, saying her harsh actions could ruin the lives of bright, young students and set a dangerous precedent for peaceful protests.

    Tlaib, who was born in Detroit to Palestinian immigrants and is the only Palestinian American member of Congress, condemned the charges as an unjust and heavy-handed response to peaceful civil disobedience.

    “This is a move that’s going to set a precedent, and it’s unfortunate that a Democrat made that move,” Tlaib said in an exclusive interview with Metro Times on Friday. “You would expect that from a Republican, but not a Democrat, and it’s really unfortunate.”

    A student protest encampment, which was established in April, grew to include about 60 tents and was intended to draw attention to Israel’s ongoing slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. The attacks started after Oct. 7, when Hamas in Gaza killed more than 1,000 people in Israel and took more than 250 hostages. Israel’s U.S.-backed retaliation has killed more than 40,000 people, many of them women and children.

    The students called for a ceasefire truce and also demanded the university divest from corporations linked to Israel. Despite multiple meetings between student liaisons and the university, the encampment remained in place, leading to police action on May 21.

    Most of those charged are alumni and students who refused to vacate the encampment after police ordered them to leave.

    Two people were charged with trespassing, a misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in jail, for refusing to leave the encampment after repeated orders to vacate. An additional seven were charged with trespassing and resisting or obstructing a police officer, a felony punishable by up to two years in prison. These charges are reserved for those who allegedly made physical contact with officers or obstructed arrests, Nessel said.

    In addition, two people, including a U-M alumnus, have been charged for separate incidents during a counter-protest on April 25. One is charged with disturbing the peace and attempted ethnic intimidation, while the other faces charges of malicious destruction of personal property for allegedly breaking and discarding protestors’ flags.

    Tlaib recalled her visit to the encampment and described the atmosphere as peaceful and welcoming.

    “It was very inclusive. It was diverse, very loving,” Tlaib, a Detroit Democrat, says. “When I visited, I remember they were talking about the Armenian genocide, and what we learned from that — it was very powerful. I wish [University of Michigan] President [Santa] Ono could see his students as people that just want to save lives, no matter their faith or ethnicity.”

    click to enlarge Pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of Michigan. - Doug Coombe

    Doug Coombe

    Pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of Michigan.

    Tlaib also criticized Nessel, who is the first Jewish person elected Attorney General of Michigan, for what she believes is a biased approach to the protest.

    “We’ve had the right to dissent, the right to protest,” Tlaib says. “We’ve done it for climate, the immigrant rights movement, for Black lives, and even around issues of injustice among water shutoffs. But it seems that the attorney general decided if the issue was Palestine, she was going to treat it differently, and that alone speaks volumes about possible biases within the agency she runs.”

    In a statement announcing the charges, Nessel said the protesters should be held accountable.

    “Conviction in your ideals is not an excuse for violations of the law,” Nessel said. “A campus should not be lawless; what is a crime anywhere else in the city remains a crime on university property.”

    The charges are likely to have a devastating impact on the lives of the young protesters, Tlaib says.

    “It’s devastating because I just hope people don’t forget these are young folks,” she says. “Many of them remind me of my own self who wanted to free our world from oppression. I just know that her action is going to ruin their lives. That’s all I can think of. They’re so young, and they have such a tremendous future.”

    Tlaib accused Nessel of caving to demands to prosecute from university authorities, including Ono and members of the Board of Regents, pointing out that Washtenaw County prosecutors could have filed charges but didn’t. In May, Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit brought charges against four people for allegedly resisting, obstructing, and assaulting police during a protest at the U-M Ruthven Administration Building on Nov. 17. But no other charges have been filed on the county level since then.

    “I think people at the University of Michigan put pressure on her to do this, and she fell for it,” Tlaib says. “I think President Ono and Board of Regent members were very much heavy-handed in this. It had to come from somewhere.”

    The congresswoman lamented the long-term impact of the university’s actions.

    “In 10 years, the University of Michigan itself is going to teach about this movement and say how wonderful it was, or how it moved our country toward a direction that it needed to, following international law and human rights laws and our own U.S. laws,” Tlaib says. “Yet people are going to write about how the University of Michigan decided to prosecute, criminalize, and vilify their students when they just did everything that they were taught to do.”

    Tlaib’s remarks highlight the ongoing tension between university administration, law enforcement, and student activists, as well as the broader implications for free speech and the right to protest in the United States.

    “Shame on President Ono and the University of Michigan leadership for enabling this,” Tlaib said. “True leadership, especially in positions of public service, is bringing communities together and having a dialogue. Instead, they’re using their political positions to divide the student population and really make everyone feel unsafe on campus and feel unseen and unheard.”

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  • AG Nessel charges 11 over pro-Palestinian demonstrations at University of Michigan

    AG Nessel charges 11 over pro-Palestinian demonstrations at University of Michigan

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    Doug Coombe

    A collective of student groups that calls itself the Tahrir Coalition organized a protest encampment on the University of Michigan Diag with the aim of convincing officials to divest $6 billion from companies tied to Israel.

    Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Thursday that she is filing criminal charges against nine people involved in a pro-Palestinian protest encampment at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

    Most of those charged are alumni and students who refused to vacate the encampment on May 21 after police ordered them to leave.

    In addition, two people, including a U-M alumnus, have been charged for separate incidents during a counter-protest on April 25. One is charged with disturbing the peace and attempted ethnic intimidation, while the other faces charges of malicious destruction of personal property for allegedly breaking and discarding protestors’ flags.

    Two people have been charged with trespassing, a misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in jail, for refusing to leave the encampment after repeated lawful orders.

    An additional seven people face charges of trespassing and resisting or obstructing a police officer, a felony punishable by up to two years in prison. These charges are reserved for those who allegedly made physical contact with officers or obstructed arrests.

    The charges follow an extensive examination of evidence that included body-worn camera footage, police reports, communications between university officials and local authorities, and various university policies and bylaws. The Solicitor General Division also evaluated all charges for potential First Amendment violations.

    Following the review, the Attorney General’s Office declined to prosecute protesters involved in two specific incidents: the Honors Convocation on March 25 at Hill Auditorium and the protest outside the University of Michigan Museum of Art on April 22. However, the investigation into incidents at the homes of U-M Regents remains ongoing.

    The charges announced Thursday stem from protest activities on the Diag, a central park area on the U-M campus, where demonstrators established an encampment in April. The encampment, which grew to approximately 60 tents, raised significant safety concerns, including fire hazards and blocked egress paths, according to the U-M fire marshal. Despite multiple meetings between university officials and student liaisons, the encampment remained in place, prompting the university to request police assistance to clear the area.

    At 5:38 a.m. on May 21, police issued a dispersal order, giving demonstrators 10 minutes to vacate the area. When the order was ignored, police moved in, encountering resistance from several demonstrators who placed and threw objects to block the officers’ path, according to Nessel. During the operation, some demonstrators physically obstructed the police.

    But protesters countered that police used excessive force. Officers dressed in riot gear used batons and pepper spray to drive protesters back from the encampment before tossing tents, supplies, and students’ belongings into trash containers.

    A similar clash occurred at an encampment at Wayne State University in Detroit on May 30.

    “There were dozens of demonstrators in this encampment that morning who promptly obeyed the officers on the scene and dispersed,” Nessel said. “For those who did not, trespassing is a 30-day misdemeanor. In this case, we charged only those who made an effort to impede the officers clearing the encampment. Resisting or Obstructing is a much more serious offense, and for the seven demonstrators we have charged with that felony, we allege that every one of them physically placed their hands or bodies against police who were conducting their duty to clear the hazardous encampment, or physically obstructed an arrest.”

    Nessel emphasized that while the right to free speech and assembly is protected under the First Amendment, illegal activities will not be tolerated.

    “Conviction in your ideals is not an excuse for violations of the law,” Nessel said. “A campus should not be lawless; what is a crime anywhere else in the city remains a crime on university property.”

    Charges were filed Wednesday in 15th District Court in Washtenaw County, though none of the defendants have yet been arraigned, as of Thursday morning.

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  • AG Nessel shuts down MSU Larry Nassar investigation after document review

    AG Nessel shuts down MSU Larry Nassar investigation after document review

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    Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has officially closed the long-running investigation into Michigan State University’s handling of the Larry Nassar sexual abuse case, citing a lack of new information in recently released documents that the university had withheld for years, she revealed in a report released Wednesday.

    Despite MSU’s eventual decision to release the documents in December 2023, Nessel expressed frustration and disappointment that the records provided no new insights into how Nassar was able to perpetrate his abuse for so long.

    “MSU has repeatedly justified withholding the documents because they contained information that was allegedly protected by the attorney-client privilege,” the report states. “Our review has revealed that this justification was not always appropriate. A significant number, if not a majority, of the documents did not appear to us to be covered by the privilege. Accordingly, there was no justifiable reason to withhold those documents for any period of time, let alone an extended period.”

    The investigation, originally launched in January 2018 by former Attorney General Bill Schuette, was hindered by MSU’s refusal to release thousands of documents, claiming they were protected by attorney-client privilege. This refusal persisted despite a judicially authorized search warrant and numerous requests from the Attorney General’s Office. As a result, the investigation was forced to close in March 2021 due to MSU’s lack of cooperation.

    However, in April 2023, with new leadership in place at MSU, Nessel renewed her request for the release of the withheld documents. Yet, the university’s leadership continued to resist, delaying any action until December 2023, when the MSU Board of Trustees finally voted to release the records. Nessel’s office received the first batch in March 2024, with the final batch arriving in April 2024.

    The review of the 6,014 documents revealed that a significant portion of them were not, in fact, protected by attorney-client privilege, as MSU had claimed, Nessel said. Many documents contained irrelevant information, such as public relations matters, insurance issues, and internal communications unrelated to Nassar’s abuse. Even the documents that did contain privileged information offered no new insights into who at MSU knew about Nassar’s abuse or when they knew it, the attorney general said

    Nessel noted that some documents were improperly withheld, including communications between non-attorneys and instances where an attorney was merely copied on an email. Inconsistencies in the redaction of documents also raised concerns about MSU’s handling of the privilege. Despite this, the review found no evidence of a concerted effort to cover up knowledge of Nassar’s conduct, according to Nessel.

    The Attorney General’s Office expressed particularly concern over the impact of MSU’s prolonged withholding of the documents. Survivors of Nassar’s abuse had hoped that the release of these documents would provide answers and accountability. Instead, the long delay only resulted in disappointment and frustration.

    “This is a disappointing close to our years-long investigation into the abuse that hundreds of young women were subjected to over the course of more than a decade,” Nessel said in a statement. “While I appreciate that MSU eventually cooperated, the withheld documents provided victims with a sense of false hope, for no justifiable reason. Simply put, there remains no fulfilling answer to the question of how this abuse was able to be perpetuated on so many, for so long, without MSU, or anyone else, putting a stop to it”.

    While the eventual release of the documents was a positive step toward transparency, Nessel criticized MSU for its years of delay, which only served to exacerbate the emotional toll on survivors and hinder the investigation. The final closure of the investigation marks the end of an “epic document saga,” leaving many questions unanswered and reinforcing the perception that MSU “circled the wagons” and “stonewalled” the investigation it had initially requested, the report states.

    According to the report, the investigation’s conclusion brings to a close another chapter in the ongoing saga of the Nassar scandal, but it leaves behind a legacy of missed opportunities for justice and accountability.

    In a statement to the victims, Nessel said the following:

    “I commend you for your bravery in coming forward and sharing your stories, and for never giving up on the pursuit of justice and transparency.

    “While the investigation is closed, this is not where this story ends. You have created a sisterhood that has worked together to create systemic changes, not just here in Michigan, but nationwide to ensure that schools are better prepared to prevent, investigate and stop abuse, to ensure that survivors are believed, and treated better in the judicial system and to change the culture in how sexual assault is seen by the public at large.

    “Your advocacy, resilience and your strength have left this world a better place. And while this may not be the justice you sought; I do believe the changes in how we treat sexual abuse on campuses and in courtrooms alike is a form of justice that will impact generations to come all across the nation.”

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  • Michigan Supreme Court ruling paves way for $15 minimum wage

    Michigan Supreme Court ruling paves way for $15 minimum wage

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    Thanks to a Michigan Supreme Court ruling Wednesday, the state’s minimum wage is poised to rise from $10.33 per hour to $15 per hour in the next several years.

    In a 4-3 ruling, the Democratic-majority state Supreme Court decided that the former Republican-controlled Legislature improperly blocked two ballot proposals in 2018 that would raise the minimum wage and expand sick leave for workers. But before the ballot initiatives were put before voters, lawmakers adopted the measures only to weaken the policies in the lame duck period after the election.

    In her majority opinion, Michigan Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Welch wrote that this so-called “adopt-and-amend” maneuver “unconstitutionally violated the people’s initiative rights.”

    As a result, the court ordered the proposals to be reinstated as originally written, with a $2 minimum wage hike to go into effect on Feb. 21, 2025, increasing in the following years according to inflation to around $15 per hour in 2028.

    The law will also phase out the lower wage for tipped workers in 2029.

    One Fair Wage, a nonprofit representing restaurant workers that joined the lawsuit arguing that the “adopt-and-amend” tactics were unconstitutional, celebrated the win.

    “This is a great day for the more than 860,000 workers in Michigan who are getting a raise,” One Fair Wage president Saru Jayaraman said in a statement. “We have finally prevailed over the corporate interests who tried everything they could to prevent all workers, including restaurant workers, from being paid a full, fair wage with tips on top.”

    Attorney General Dana Nessel also celebrated the decision.

    “This is a landmark victory for Michigan voters and a resounding affirmation of the power of direct democracy,” Nessel said. “The Legislature cannot manipulate its power to undermine the will of the people. This ruling sends a clear message that elected officials cannot disregard the voices of their constituents. I am glad to see the Court recognize and respect that the people reserved for themselves the power of initiative, a crucial tool meant to shape the laws that govern them.”

    Unsurprisingly, the news was not celebrated by the Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association lobbying group, which warned that such wage increases will hobble an already fragile industry.

    “Today’s tone-deaf ruling by the Michigan Supreme Court strikes a likely existential blow to Michigan’s restaurant industry,” MRLA president and CEO Justin Winslow, President & CEO said in a statement. “As our recent industry operations survey illustrated, 40% of full-service restaurants in Michigan are already unprofitable, meaning this decision is likely to force more than one in five of them to close permanently, eliminating up to 60,000 jobs along the way.”

    Winslow urged the state Legislature to pass a compromise solution “that prevents this impending catastrophe before it is implemented.”

    He added, “The future of Michigan’s restaurant industry and the stability of Michigan’s overall economy hangs in the balance.”

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    Lee DeVito

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  • Pro-Trump Michigan attorney loses spectacularly in yet another courtroom drama

    Pro-Trump Michigan attorney loses spectacularly in yet another courtroom drama

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    Michigan “Kraken” lawyer Stefanie Lambert, who unsuccessfully tried to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Michigan and was later charged with improperly accessing voting equipment, has lost yet another court battle in her quest to prove baseless claims about voter fraud in the state.

    Macomb County Circuit Judge Edward A. Servitto dismissed Lambert’s request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to obtain election records from local clerks that contain sensitive information, including voter history extract files from electronic pollbooks. Her legal claims are baseless, the judge ruled.

    Last summer, Lambert sued 16 cities and townships, along with their clerks, to force them to disclose the information as she continued to peddle false conspiracy theories about widespread election fraud.

    Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson instructed the clerks to deny the FOIA requests based on exemptions in the public records law. Benson asked the clerks to redirect the FOIA request to her department, which could provide the information without the sensitive data.

    Arguing the information from the clerks contained proprietary information and sensitive voter data, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed a motion to intervene in the case on behalf of Benson.

    In addition to dismissing the case, Servitto rejected Lambert’s argument that Benson lacked the authority to instruct the local clerks to deny the requests.

    “I am grateful that the Court reaffirmed Secretary Benson’s authority to safeguard Michigan election records and to provide public data without compromising private, sensitive information,” Nessel said. “My office will always protect election security against those who have a blatant disregard for voter privacy.”

    Lambert, a lawyer from South Lyon, has worked on lawsuits alleging “massive election fraud.” She also teamed up with disgraced Texas attorney Sidney Powell, who described her legal actions as releasing the “Kraken.”

    Lambert was arrested in Washington D.C. in March after she failed to appear at a hearing involving felony charges of improperly accessing voting equipment in her quest to prove her baseless claim that the election was stolen from Donald Trump. She is facing two different sets of criminal charges in connection with allegedly mishandling voting equipment.

    Metro Times couldn’t reach Lambert for comment.

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  • State AG Nessel joins legal battle against TurboTax’s ‘free’ filing ruse

    State AG Nessel joins legal battle against TurboTax’s ‘free’ filing ruse

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    Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has joined a coalition of 22 attorneys general in backing a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) order aimed at halting deceptive advertising practices by Intuit, the maker of TurboTax.

    The order targets Intuit’s “misleading promotion” that falsely claims its preparation software is free when, in reality, most consumers end up paying for the service.

    In the ongoing case of Intuit v. FTC, the attorneys general have filed a brief urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to uphold the commission’s order and dismiss Intuit’s appeal.

    “Too many Americans have suffered unnecessary financial losses as a result of Intuit’s deceptive practices, especially low-income families and veterans who were otherwise eligible for free filing services elsewhere,” Nessel said in a news release Wednesday. “I stand firmly with my colleagues in urging the court to uphold the FTC’s decision. We must hold corporations like Intuit responsible for deceptive and misleading advertisements.”

    A few years ago, I was lured into using TurboTax when I saw an advertisement claiming it was free. But after spending more than a half hour filling out the electronic form, TurboTax demanded money for its services.

    I felt conned. Since I had already filled out the form, I was on the verge of paying the fee and chalking it up to a lesson learned. But I decided the principle was more important and used another service that acknowledged up front that a fee was involved.

    The actions by the attorneys general followed a significant settlement in 2022, when a coalition of 50 states and the District of Columbia settled for $141 million over the company’s deceptive marketing and advertising.

    In 2023, the commission issued an order requiring Intuit to stop advertising products as free unless there is no cost to all consumers. The company appealed the decision and is seeking to overturn the FTC’s cease-and-desist order.

    As a result of the deceptive advertising, millions of Americans, especially low-income taxpayers and military families, have been harmed, the attorneys general claim. The brief details how Intuit allegedly manipulated search results to entice consumers into paying for tax preparation software, even when they were eligible to file their taxes for free. Many TurboTax customers ended up paying for services they should have received for free.

    The other states involved in the legal action are Illinois, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin, along with the District of Columbia.

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    Steve Neavling

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  • Ex-Michigan police chief sentenced up to 20 years in prison for stealing drugs

    Ex-Michigan police chief sentenced up to 20 years in prison for stealing drugs

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    A former Michigan police chief who was charged with stealing narcotics from her department and planning to sell them was sentenced on Monday to 40 months to 20 years in prison.

    Tressa Beltran was chief of the Hartford Police Department when she stole the drugs in 2022.

    Beltran retired in January 2023 and was charged in May 2023.

    “Today’s sentence delivered a clear message that no one is above the law,” Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, whose office filed the charges, said in a written statement. “I commend the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office for their diligent investigative efforts that led to the removal of Ms. Beltran from her position as police chief, ensuring she could no longer jeopardize public health. My office will continue to pursue public integrity and hold accountable those who abuse their positions of power.”

    In April, Beltran admitted she had drugs with the intent of delivering them and said she used a computer to arrange the delivery. She pleaded guilty to one count each of delivery or possession with the intent to deliver less than 50 grams of a controlled substance and use of a computer to commit a crime.

    Beltran also is prohibited from serving in law enforcement again.

    Detectives from the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office began investigating Beltran after receiving several tips in the summer of 2022 that she was stealing drugs from a disposal box at the police department. As part of the investigation, detectives marked two bottles of hydrocodone, an addictive painkiller, in the drug disposal box and found that some of the pills went missing.

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    Steve Neavling

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  • Michigan joins federal antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation and Ticketmaster

    Michigan joins federal antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation and Ticketmaster

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    Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel supports the U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation and its subsidy Ticketmaster, which are accused of operating an illegal monopoly that critics argue stifles competition and drives up ticket prices.

    “Michigan concertgoers deserve the chance to experience the thrill of seeing their favorite artist live, in a venue close to home, without breaking the bank,” Nessel said in a statement. “Unfortunately, this dream is out of reach for many because of Live Nation’s illegal monopoly. A truly competitive marketplace is essential to providing consumers with choice. That’s why I, along with the Department of Justice and other states, are taking a stand against Live Nation’s practices that limit choice, hamper innovation, and unfairly inflate prices.”

    The lawsuit, which was filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, accuses the live music conglomerate of engaging in unethical behavior like pressuring venues into engaging in restrictive long-term agreements and threatening to withhold access to Live Nation-controlled tours if they work with rival ticket companies.

    These anticompetitive practices have “harmed fans through higher fees, lack of transparency, fewer consumer choices, and stifling innovation,” Nessel’s office said.

    Live Nation and Ticketmaster merged in 2009 and according to the D.O.J. control 60% of concert promotions at major venues around the U.S. and roughly 80% of primary ticketing at major concert venues.

    Live Nation has denied the allegations and claims that breaking up the company would not result in lower ticket prices or fees, pointing out that artists are primarily responsible for pricing tickets and surcharges go to venues. The lawsuit, a company spokesman said in a statement, “ignores everything that is actually responsible for higher ticket prices, from increasing production costs to artist popularity, to 24/7 online ticket scalping that reveals the public’s willingness to pay far more than primary tickets cost.”

    Nessel is joined by the Attorneys General of Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

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    Lee DeVito

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  • Michigan AG to sue fossil fuel companies over climate damage

    Michigan AG to sue fossil fuel companies over climate damage

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    This coverage is made possible through a partnership between IPR and Grist, a nonprofit environmental media organization.

    Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel plans to sue fossil fuel companies for knowingly causing climate change, harming the state’s economy and ways of life.

    The department is asking outside lawyers to submit proposals to help with the case, which Nessel said could potentially bring billions to the state to help address damages from climate change. Attorneys and law firms can submit proposals through June 5th.

    “A case like this is exhaustive in nature,” she told Interlochen Public Radio. “You’re going after Big Oil, so you need to have some support in terms of additional attorneys and support staff.”

    Nessel said the case is an effort to recover some of what Michigan has lost due to climate change, pointing to severe weather events, risks to agriculture, and last winter’s shorter ski seasons and canceled sled dog races.

    “It’s long past time that we step up and hold the fossil fuel companies that are responsible for all these damages accountable,” she said.

    Investigations in 2015 from Inside Climate News and the Los Angeles Times showed that companies like Exxon knew about the dangers of greenhouse gas emissions for decades, but minimized those threats.

    Last month, the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability said its own nearly three-year-long investigation gave a “rare glimpse into the extensive efforts undertaken by fossil fuel companies to deceive the public and investors about their knowledge of the effects of their products on climate change and to undermine efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions.”

    For instance, ahead of a recent congressional hearing, newly revealed documents showed that BP executives knew natural gas was contributing significantly to climate change but promoted it as a “bridge” fuel to replace coal.

    Asked about Michigan’s plans to sue, Ryan Meyers, the American Petroleum Institute’s senior vice president and general counsel, said it is part of an “ongoing, coordinated campaign to wage meritless, politicized lawsuits against a foundational American industry and its workers.” Meyers added that climate policy should be handled in Congress, not the courts.

    With this suit, Michigan would join dozens of local, tribal, and state governments that have taken similar steps to try to hold the industry accountable.

    The attorney general’s department is working with state agencies to assess the impacts of climate change in Michigan.

    Nessel said the state has successfully pursued similar legal efforts in the past, including against the opioid industry and chemical manufacturers that produced PFAS.

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    Izzy Ross, Interlochen Public Radio

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  • Michigan AG targets Google and X with search warrants in investigation of fake electors scheme

    Michigan AG targets Google and X with search warrants in investigation of fake electors scheme

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    Steve Neavling

    Donald Trump supporters rallied in Detroit in November 2020, falsely claiming widespread election fraud.

    Michigan prosecutors executed a search warrant to obtain hundreds of files from Google and X (formerly Twitter) as part of an ongoing investigation into the fake electors plot in the state.

    The news, first broken by CNN, was confirmed to Metro Times and provides prosecutors with fresh information for their investigation.

    The warrants targeted the Google and X accounts of pro-Trump lawyer Kenneth Chesebro, who played a major role in the scheme nationwide.

    The warrant sought Chesebro’s emails and direct private messages after he denied having an X account in an interview with Michigan prosecutors last year.

    The records contradict his claims. State prosecutors obtained more than 160 sent messages and more than 25 received messages from X between 2014 and 2021, with most of them coming after the 2020 election.

    In July 2023, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office charged the 16 fake electors for falsely claiming Donald Trump won Michigan in the 2020 election. The Trump allies met in the basement of the Michigan Republican Party’s Lansing headquarters in December 2020 after Biden won in the state in an attempt to overturn the election, Nessel’s office alleges. The fake electors signed a series of certificates that falsely claimed Trump won in Michigan, and those fraudulent documents were sent to the U.S. Sente and National Archives, according to prosecutors.

    Michigan is one of seven states where the Trump campaign launched the fake elector scheme.

    Prosecutors in each state are examining how much Trump’s national campaign was involved. Since Chesebro was central to the plot on a national level, the new documents could provide prosecutors with critical new information.

    In connection to the scheme in Georgia, Chesebro pleaded guilty in a criminal racketeering indictment in October and agreed to help Georgia prosecutors.

    Chesebro, who has not been charged in Michigan, was accused of helping create slates of fake electors in states won by Biden.

    The new documents obtained by Michigan prosecutors show that Chesebro tried in vain to lure several notorious, controversial Trump allies to Washington, D.C. to witness the fake elector scheme unfold on Jan. 6, 2021, the day that rioters burst into the U.S. Capitol.

    The records also show that Chesebro encouraged conservative pundits and right-wing figures to promote his strategies for subverting the Electoral College process.

    “It would help to publicize that if (then-Vice President Mike) Pence claims the power to resolve disputes about the electoral votes on Jan. 6, he’d simply be doing what (Thomas) Jefferson did,” Chesebro told Gateway Pundit founder Jim Hoft in a message on December 27, 2020.

    Metro Times could not immediately reach Chesebro for comment.

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    Steve Neavling

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  • Michigan AG supports Metro Times lawsuit for police records in amicus brief

    Michigan AG supports Metro Times lawsuit for police records in amicus brief

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    Courtesy photo

    Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.

    Attorney General Dana Nessel has weighed in on a lawsuit filed on behalf of Metro Times requesting Michigan State Police to release the identities of all current and former officers, information sought as part of a project to create a national database tracking police misconduct.

    Nessel offered her support in the form of an amicus curiae, or “friend of the court” brief, in which an individual or organization not party to a legal case weighs in with insights or expertise.

    In a motion filed Wednesday in Michigan’s Court of Claims, Nessel argues as “the chief law enforcement officer of the State” that MSP should release the names in the interest of transparency and accountability.

    “Our State — like all states — gives a great deal of power to law enforcement officers — and not just a great amount of power, but indeed a monopoly on such power,” Nessel writes, adding, “But it is an axiom of human nature that giving some people power over others entails a risk that this power will be abused. And to this end, our laws generally require that those who wield governmental power do their work in the sunlight.”

    Since the Department of Attorney General also represents the Michigan State Police in the lawsuit, the Department erected a conflict wall within the office to allow Nessel to take the contrary position.

    Pointing out that the identities of private sector workers who are granted a license from the government — whether plumbers or attorneys — are routinely made public, Nessel argues that police officers must be held to the same standard.

    “Making these names public serves goals of transparency, accountability, and protection of the public,” she writes. “Not only does it promote accountability among those who are licensed, it also protects the public from those who are not licensed in good standing.”

    In January 2023, Metro Times and the Invisible Institute requested the names of all certified and uncertified officers in Michigan, along with information about their employment history. The information is held by the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards (MCOLES), which is housed within the MSP.

    But in March 2023, MSP declined to provide the identities of the officers, arguing “the public disclosure of the information would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of an individual’s privacy” that “would endanger the life and safety of the law enforcement officers and their families.”

    The lawsuit to release the data was filed in November in the Michigan Court of Claims by the University of Michigan’s Civil Rights Litigation Initiative on behalf of Metro Times and Chicago-based nonprofit the Invisible Institute. MSP then filed a motion to dismiss the case.

    In her brief, Nessel argues that “MSP has not made the required showing to justify withholding all names,” “has failed to show that disclosure of the requested records would endanger the safety of law enforcement officers,” and that refusing to release the names runs counter to Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act. The brief argues the Court should deny MSP’s motion to dismiss.

    The refusal of MSP to release names makes it an outlier. At least 34 states have disclosed at least the names of certified officers to a coalition of news organizations as part of the national database project.

    The Metro Times lawsuit was filed in support of its reporting on the full scope and impact of “wandering officers” in Michigan.

    Last year, Metro Times launched an ongoing series about wandering cops in Michigan, which are officers who move from department to department amid allegations of misconduct. The problem has become more serious as police departments are pressured to lower their standards in the face of an officer shortage.

    In October 2023, Metro Times revealed that the Detroit and Eastpointe police departments violated a 2017 law intended to prevent wandering officers by enabling a disgraced former cop to get a new job. Former Detroit cop Kairy Roberts landed the new job in Eastpointe last year, despite an internal investigation that found he had punched an unarmed man in the face in Greektown, failed to provide medical aid, and then lied about the encounter in August 2021.

    In March, Metro Times showed that a Warren cop who retired while under investigation ended up at the Romeo Police Department, where he was fired after allegedly getting payback on a former boss by ticketing him for traffic offenses. The traffic tickets were later dismissed, and the stop led to a lawsuit.

    Also in March, Metro Times revealed that the Warren Police Department offered to hide the details of an internal affairs investigation if a top-ranking official agreed to resign.

    Both stories in March led to ongoing state investigations.

    The full amicus brief is below.

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    Lee DeVito

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  • Nessel moves to toss lawsuit by hair salon that said trans people should go to ‘pet groomer’

    Nessel moves to toss lawsuit by hair salon that said trans people should go to ‘pet groomer’

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    Studio 8 Hair Lab in Traverse City sued the state, saying it has the right to discriminate against people based on their gender identity

    Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is urging a court to toss out a lawsuit filed by a transphobic hair salon that claims it has the right to discriminate against people based on their gender identity.

    Nessel, on behalf of the Michigan Department of Civil Rights (MDCR), filed a motion Tuesday to dismiss the lawsuit filed by Studio 8 Hair Lab after it said that transgender people are not welcome and should get their haircut at “a pet groomer.”

    The Michigan Civil Rights Commission, which is operated by MDCR, charged the salon with discrimination in November for advertising that it refused to serve transgender people.

    A month later, Studio 8 responded by filing a First Amendment complaint in Grand Traverse Circuit Court, alleging the MDCR infringed on its religious beliefs and right to free speech.

    In her motion Tuesday, Nessel argues that the circuit court has no jurisdiction over the case, and only the Michigan Court of Claims can hear cases against the state and its departments.

    “Under Michigan law, religious freedoms are taken into consideration under the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act when assessing discrimination claims,” Nessel said in a statement Wednesday. “Our state’s residents can rest assured that Michigan’s recently enacted protections for the LGBTQ+ community will be enforced to the fullest extent as the constitution permits. The Circuit Court has no discretion but to dismiss Studio 8’s claims against the Michigan Department of Civil Rights.”

    Salon owner Christine Geiger tells Metro Times that she disagrees with Nessel’s interpretation of the law.

    “The U.S. Supreme Court has said that courts decide first before agencies,” Geiger says.

    Asked how the salon was doing after being thrust into the media spotlight, Geiger responds, “Fine,” and declined further comment.

    In October, Geiger filed a lawsuit in Traverse City Circuit Court against Traverse City and three residents who filed a complaint against her salon, alleging they violated her “sincerely held religious understanding that God created a man and a woman and that any other conception of a man and a woman violates God’s plan.”

    In December, Geiger added MDCR to the lawsuit in an attempt to challenge a part of the Michigan Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act that bars discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.

    In her motion to dismiss, Nessel said the salon was attempting “to derail administrative proceedings initiated against Studio 8 by MDCR and to retaliate against the individuals who exercised their right to file complaints against the studio under the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act.”

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  • “Betrayed is an understatement”: Fake elector throws Trump team under the bus as he spills the beans

    “Betrayed is an understatement”: Fake elector throws Trump team under the bus as he spills the beans

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    A Michigan Republican who served as a fake elector for former President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election expressed remorse for partaking in the scheme, per a recording of the elector’s interview with the state attorney general’s office that was obtained by The New York Times.

    Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel dropped criminal charges against 77-year-old James Renner after he agreed to cooperate. Renner is the only one of 16 fake electors charged to have reached an agreement with Nessel’s office. Thus far, Nessel has only charged the electors but has stated that her investigation is ongoing.

    “I can’t overemphasize how once I read the information in the J6 transcripts how upset I was that the legitimate process had not been followed,” Renner said in the interview. “I felt that I had been walked into a situation that I shouldn’t have ever been involved in.”

    The Times reported that Renner was an eleventh-hour substitution in December of 2020 for two electors who had dropped out of the plot. Slates of fake electors have already been charged in several states, including Georgia, Michigan, and Nevada. Separate probes are also underway in Arizona and New Mexico.

    The investigators who conducted Renner’s interview questioned him about a bevy of items related to the scheme, including reported key players such as former New York City Mayor and Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, and Shawn Flynn — a Michigan lawyer who worked with the Trump campaign. Giuliani is also charged in the Georgia probe, headed by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.  He recently filed for bankruptcy after being ordered to pay $148 million to two Georgia election workers who sued him for defamation after he peddled voter fraud conspiracies about them.

    The Times reported that Renner is a former state trooper and a retired businessman who volunteered as a local party activist in Clinton County, near Michigan’s state capital, Lansing. “He had never served as an elector before and typically supported Republican campaigns by passing out signs and distributing fliers,” the Times report noted. “He said he was contacted by the head of the county Republican Party a day or so before the electors had planned to meet on Dec. 14, 2020, was asked to fill in for someone who was dropping out and agreed to do so.”

    During the interview, Renner indicated that he “knew nothing about the electoral process,” adding that three other electors — Meshawn Maddock, Kathleen Berden, and Marya Rodriguez — took the reins. All three have pleaded not guilty. “I was accepting the individuals that were in authority” knew “what they were talking about,” Renner told investigators.

    It was not until he and the other electors were sued in civil court in January of 2023, Renner said, that he took it upon himself to begin reading into the House transcripts and the official procedure for electors. He later understood that what had transpired “was not legitimate.”

    Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course.

    “It was only then that I realized that, hold it, there is an official state authorized process for this,” he said. Prior to that, Renner said, “I had never been an elector, I had never discussed it with anybody. I was used to a much more informal process at the county level. And so that’s when I became suspicious of what had gone on.”

    “I am very upset, I don’t show it, but I am,” Renner told investigators. Feeling “betrayed,” he added, “is an understatement. That’s all I can say.”

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  • Trump Is In A World Of Hurt As Michigan Fake Elector Flips

    Trump Is In A World Of Hurt As Michigan Fake Elector Flips

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    James Renner, who was a Trump fake elector charged with multiple felonies has flipped and signed a cooperation agreement with the Michigan Attorney General.

    NBC News reported:

    A copy of the cooperation agreement with Renner, obtained by NBC News, shows he promised to “cooperate fully” with the attorney general’s office on October 10, agreeing to testify at trial and key hearings if called, and provide investigators with “any and all relevant documents.”

    The document indicates Renner promised to provide information connected to the key Dec. 14, 2020, meeting where the fake elector certificates were signed.

    Specifically, Renner has agreed to provide information related to Renner being called and asked to appear at Michigan Republican Party headquarters, appearing at MIGOP Headquarters and attending a meeting for the “Republican Slate,” as well as Renner identifying leaders of the meeting and other attendees, signing the “2020 Republican Slate” document and circumstances regarding him walking to the Capitol on December, according to the document.

    Renner will provide vital information because the fake elector plot did not begin and end with the state Republican Party. The fake elector plot was being run by the Trump campaign. Just like in Georgia, Michigan AG Dana Nessel is working her way up the conspiracy chain.

    It is unknown if Michigan will follow Georgia and the United States government in indicting Trump and members of his campaign.

    The next big Trump-related criminal prosecution looks to be taking shape in Michigan.








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  • Expungement clinic offers participants second chance at life

    Expungement clinic offers participants second chance at life

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    SAGINAW, Mich. (WNEM) – Residents got a chance at a clean slate thanks to an expungement assistance initiative.

    “It’s really important that we recognize that people make changes in their life and they’re trying to do better,” said Shanell Boos, from Peer 360 Recovery Alliance.

    People looking for a second chance in life gathered at United Methodist Church for the Saginaw Expungement Clinic.

    The event hosted by Peer 360 Recovery Alliance had lawyers on hand to help individuals with criminal records start the process to have it expunged.

    “A lot of people get into trouble times in their lives, a lot of people make mistakes, but then it follows them the rest of their life,” said Attorney General Dana Nessel.

    Nessel said having a criminal record holds people back who are trying to do better for themselves, affecting their ability to get good jobs, an education, and housing even if they have been crime free for years.

    “What we know is this for people who are able to get their convictions expunged within one year’s time, their income is likely to increase by 22 percent. And that’s just the first year. And not only that, but it helps bring down crime because people who get their convictions expires are far less likely ever to be involved in criminal conduct again,” Nessel said.

    Lawyers were on hand to help people find out if they were eligible to have their records expunged and fill out the paperwork if they were.

    “We had 18 attorneys volunteer to come in pro bono and volunteer their time to help people fill out the paperwork necessary for the expungement,” Boos said.

    “We have about a million people in the state of Michigan that are now currently eligible to get their convictions cleared. We want to help as many people as possible and get them you know, on the road to a place where you know they’re gonna be able to provide for themselves and their families and not get into trouble anymore,” Nessel said.

    Boos it is important to have walk in clinics like this one because it gives people an opportunity that they might not otherwise have because of their criminal record.

    “A lot of different areas of life are impeded by having things on your record,” Boos said.

    Organizers said if you do not qualify to have your record expunged now to check back later because you may be eligible to have it expunged in the future.

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