After being criticized for allowing members of the Proud Boys to speak at a previous meeting, a lawmaker in Michigan decided the most appropriate response was to grab his rifle during an online meeting.
According to the Associated Press, the incident took place during the public comment period of a meeting of the Grand Traverse County Board of Commissioners. When Kelli MacIntosh, a local woman, criticized the board for allowing two self-proclaimed members of the Proud Boys to speak last year during a meeting regarding a pro-Second Amendment resolution. When MacIntosh asked for Chairman Rob Hentschel to denounce them, board member Ron Clous stepped away from his webcam and returned with a very large rifle.
MacIntosh, understandably, felt threatened by the display. “This guy is in the middle of a government meeting brandishing a weapon,” MacIntosh told the
Traverse City Record-Eagle. “Why would I not think they were trying to harm me?” The 74-year-old MacIntosh told AP that she plans to file a report with the Michigan State Police.
“I didn’t think he was going to shoot me, obviously, but I do think his whole point was to intimidate me and threaten me and anyone else who’s going to speak out ... and see if he can stir up masses of people who are just looking for things to fight about,” MacIntosh told AP.
Predictably, the two white men at the center of this incident see nothing wrong. In fact, Hentschel could be heard laughing in response to Clous grabbing the gun.