The men, who were wearing “patriotic clothing,” insisted that they had a “First Amendment right” to film outside of the polling station. They eventually left the area—only to move to another polling station, where they and other members of the same group again began to record voters and pass out fliers.
The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit claiming that Michigan voters in several Detroit suburbs were subjected to the threats, harassment, and intimidation at polling places in Oakland County.
According to The Detroit Free Press, the complaint was filed earlier this week. It does not identify any defendants by name, but asserts that the six defendants were part of a group that traveled between multiple polling locations in Royal Oak and Birmingham.
“Despite significant legislative activity aimed at allowing people to register to vote and cast their ballot without fear of actual or attempted intimidation, threats, or coercion, efforts to intimidate voters have persisted,” the American Civil Liberties Union wrote. “Unfortunately, Defendants’ actions today represent a continuation of a decades-long pattern of intimidating conduct, especially targeting minority communities in swing states.”
At one station, the defendants purportedly broke the law by recording voters. Outside of another, they allegedly followed a woman to her car after she cast her ballot.
One of the defendants appears to have intentionally concealed his face.
Attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union say that, even though the group was reported to local law enforcement, police in neither city intervened.
“In light of the failure of law enforcement to address this legal behavior earlier today, an injunction against John Does’ intimidation tactics is the only way to protect Michigan voters from intimidation, harassment, threats, and coercion that has discouraged voters from participating in the election,” the lawsuit says.
The Detroit News reports that Steven Raimi, a Berkley “poll watcher,” wrote in an affidavit that he witnessed a confrontation between Birmingham police officers and “three men” who had been filming people at a polling station at Derby Middle School.
The men, who were wearing “patriotic clothing,” insisted that they had a “First Amendment right” to film outside of the polling station. They eventually left the area—only to move to another polling station, where they and other members of the same group again began to record voters and pass out fliers.
“Upon information and belief, the six individuals I interacted with at Derby Middle School and Oakland Technical were part of an organized effort to invite negative responses or anger from poll workers and voters and to capture those responses on video,” Raimi wrote in his affidavit.
The Birmingham Police Department said that it received “several calls regarding a First Amendment auditor filming at multiple precinct locations in our city,” adding that no Election Day arrests were made.
The lawsuit sought an injunction ordering the defendants from engaging in further “intimidation” tactics during the election process as well as post-Election Day processes, like the counting and certification of the vote; the injunction has since been granted.
“Plaintiffs will suffer irreparable harm by being deprived of their constitutional voting rights,” U.S. District Judge Terrence Berg wrote in his Tuesday order.
Sources
ACLU lawsuit: Michigan voters threatened at polls and police did nothing
ACLU sues over alleged harassment at Michigan polling places
Six people intimidated voters in Birmingham, Royal Oak, ACLU lawsuit contends
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