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An official with Michigan’s Grand Traverse County Board of Commissioners threw a gun at a live-streamed public meeting on Wednesday after a local resident asked the group to condemn the Proud Boys, according to multiple reports.
During the virtual meeting, Keli MacIntosh, a resident of East Bay Township, called on the Council of Commissioners to make “some sort of public statement” denouncing the far-right group the Proud Boys, which had spoken out before council last year as it considered a gun rights proposal.
“I mean, you can say we don’t have [a] problem with the Proud Boys in our area, but obviously there are problems with the Proud Boys across the country causing problems, ”MacIntosh said as Commission Chairman Ron Clous exited the screen, as shown in a video posted by the Washington Post.
MacIntosh went on to explain that even though she doesn’t own a gun, she can “certainly appreciate that people want their gun rights protected.”
While speaking, Clous is shown walking back into the frame holding a gun.
MacIntosh goes on to say that groups like the Proud Boys have been given permission “to do more with their guns than go hunting.”
MacIntosh told the Post that Clous’s actions scared him.
“He is supposed to look after the best interests of the community,” she said. “What’s the message he’s trying to get across? That if someone comes out against us, we’ll just threaten them with a gun?”
Clous defended his actions with the Traverse City Record-Eagle.
“I was just going to show the gun and show that I fully support the Second Amendment, but then I chose not to,” he said.
He went on to explain his interaction with the far-right group at the March meeting.
“The only thing I know about them is when they came to talk to us. They were probably the most respected people who stood up and spoke,” he said. “They were good guys and they treated us with respect.”
Commission Chairman Rob Hentschel, who can be seen laughing as Clous holds the gun, told Record-Eagle he sees no harm in Clous’s actions.
“I saw it on his chest and thought it was ironic of him to do that,” Hentschel said. “The person was talking about guns and he had one on his chest. I didn’t see him do anything illegal or dangerous with it. He wasn’t threatening or brandishing. He was just holding it. “
Board member Betsy Coffia expressed her disapproval of the incident in a statement to The Hill, saying it gave responsible gun owners a bad name.
“It is unacceptable for an elected official to respond to a voter exercising their First Amendment right by brandishing a gun at a public meeting,” she said.
She then criticized Hentschel’s reaction, saying: “It is unacceptable that the president not only chuckled in approval, but is also defending the actions.”
Coffia said the most alarming part of the incident was the fact that “the two men defend the Proud Boys as the FBI found them as an extremist group linked to white nationalism.”
Hentschel, Clous and the rest of the board did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment.
The incident comes after the deadly January 6 riot on the United States Capitol, in which right-wing activist groups were involved.
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