Plaintiffs in Flint City Hall ‘gun-free zone’ lawsuit say mayor, council should be held in contempt

Flint, MI — Plaintiffs in the ongoing lawsuit against Flint City Hall’s “gun-free zone” designation are now saying Mayor Sheldon Neeley and Flint City Council should be held in contempt of a recent court order.

On the morning of Dec. 5, 2023, plaintiffs — which include two Flint residents and three Michigan gun-rights advocacy groups — filed a motion asking that Neeley and his co-defendants show cause as to why 7th Circuit Court Judge Brian S. Pickell shouldn’t find them in contempt of his Nov. 20 order.

That order offered temporary injunctive relief surrounding city hall’s gun-free designation, which was made public in late October of this year. 

Pickell’s order was meant to allow people to bring “personal-protection items,” including firearms, to Flint City Council meetings and other open meetings at city hall while the judge worked to issue a final decision in the lawsuit.

However, the plaintiffs’ Dec. 5 motion claims, that’s not what happened.

Among other things, the plaintiffs state that at Flint City Council meetings held on Nov. 27, there were a “multitude of signs posted outside and inside of Flint City Hall purporting City Hall to be a ‘Gun Free Zone’ pursuant to a local court order,” and attendees were “detained at a checkpoint just inside the front door, required to walk through an active metal detector manned by an armed Flint City Police officer also equipped with a metal detecting ‘wand,’ and verbally asked if they possessed any personal-protection items.”

The motion goes on to state that attendees’ bags’ contents were also “physically searched” and “attendees found to be in otherwise lawful possession of any personal-protection items were denied entry through the checkpoint.”

Plaintiffs added that after alerting the police officer manning the checkpoint of the Nov. 20 court order, that officer “eventually contacted a supervisor,” and allowed the denied attendees into the meeting, informing them they needed to contact Neeley directly.

However, plaintiffs also allege that after they were allowed entry into City Hall, the checkpoint’s operation continued, and further attendees “were stopped, searched, or denied entry, but ​​the attendees protested enough to receive individualized approval from a supervisor and/or Defendant Sheldon Neeley.”

The motion lists a host of requested relief, including holding Neeley and Flint City Council in contempt and requiring them to remove signage, checkpoints, checkpoint equipment, and any personnel enforcing the “enjoined conduct” from Pickell’s Nov. 20 order.

The city of Flint’s communications team did not respond to Flint Beat’s request for comment by press time.

Flint City Council’s next committee meetings will be held on Dec. 6, 5:30 p.m. at Flint City Hall.