14 DAY TRIAL // A 59-year-old Michigan man was arrested on March 4 at a township board meeting after he reportedly refused to stop talking past the three-minute time limit for public comments.
Mark A. Adams from Bridgeport was accused on Friday of resisting and obstructing a police officer and a misdemeanor count of disturbing the peace in Saginaw District Court.
Authorities say that, although officials asked him to stop talking, the man exceeded the established three-minute time limit for comments during the Bridgeport Township meeting.
It seems that the man was really upset and wanted to voice his opinion, but unfortunately the time was not enough for him to express all his thoughts. This incident proves that the right to freedom of speech is not absolute and is certainly subject to limitations.
The Saginaw News informs that Adams handed a four-page document to members of the board before he started his speech. The document presented 21 complaints against Bridgeport Township officials and other government officials and included Adams' contact information at the top.
Among the grievances, the unhappy citizen mentioned alleged wrongdoings of various governmental bodies, such as violations of the state open meetings act and Freedom of Information Act, corruption, tax fraud, police harassment, trespassing, and more.
Bridgeport Township Manager Rose Licht says this was the third time Adams disturbed the township board meeting, as he was escorted out on two other occasions in the past, but this was the first time he was arrested.
“He was asked to wrap it up by the township supervisor and he refused and continued to talk over him,” Licht said. “Several times the supervisor asked him to take a seat and he refused and the police department asked him to have a seat and took him out of the building,” he added.
It would appear that the feud between Adams and the township has been going on for several years, and the issues are linked to a vacant land he owns in Bridgeport Township and certain township directives.
“It's a long-time dispute. If he would have wrapped it up, he would have been fine,” Licht added.
Adams was arrested on his 59th birthday and faces a maximum sentence of two years in prison for the resisting and obstructing charge. He was released on a $7,500 (€5,390) personal recognizance bond.
The man is scheduled for a Wednesday, March 19, preliminary hearing before District Judge M. Randall Jurrens.