The Kalamazoo County Republican Party on Monday won their initial legal battle, having a Temporary Restraining Order struck down in court. 2022 Republican Nominee for Attorney General and KGOP Executive Committee member Matt DePerno, represented the KGOP and was heard saying, “We don’t need Democrat infiltrators and anarchist’s causing our party to fight itself, injecting chaos into our party. We are taking a stand here in Kalamazoo, for our county party and other county Republican parties.” The “anarchists” he mentioned (some likely Democrat infiltrators) seemed ill prepared as their counsel, Jimmy Thomas from somewhere in Kent County, seemed to be arguing against himself, unprepared and required constant redirection from the judge to discuss the matters at hand.
When asked for comment after the hearing, KGOP Chair Kelly Sackett said, “It is a sad day, we have the state GOP seemingly willing to take sides against county parties and supporting Democratic infiltrators. These delegates originally seemed to be working for the party’s interests, but after their obvious change in tactics after the general election, they’re now replicating the radical progressive model of creating chaos, trying to get arrested, shouting down opposition in meetings and spreading falsehoods on various social media platforms. They’re even resorting to litigation to get their way.”
The hearing on Monday centered around three (3) Executive Committee members who were to be removed by a second and final vote later that evening. The plaintiffs (one of the named plaintiff’s) was intent on stopping that vote. The TRO was not granted with Judge Curtis Bell (9th Circuit Court) finding for the defendants and allowing the removal to move forward. The vote(s) required a two third (2/3) vote by the KGOP Executive Committee (EC), the committee cast a commanding super majority vote of three quarters (3/4) for permanent removal. The three were removed from the KGOP EC Monday night.
Chair Sackett went on to say, “We had a victory in court today, Matt is defending our Constitutional rights to determine how we run our private organization within our county. I was appalled that the opposing counsel mentioned that the MIGOP’s legal counsel was going to file an Amicus Brief on their behalf. That’s alarming and inappropriate. We won’t tolerate Kristina Karamo meddling in our local affairs just like we wouldn’t have tolerated Ron Weiser or Meshawn Maddock doing it. Is her new Chief of Staff running the MIGOP or is she? Either way, this has got to stop. I am sending the MIGOP a letter demanding they explain why they are meddling in county party business. There are 83 counties who want to run their own affairs.”
The State’s potential involvement in the case could be troubling for the current administration. Kristina Karamo and her staff, who face a lack of fundraising and a delegation which seems to be (according to the response filed by the KGOP legal team) riddled with infiltrators (the “anarchists” and “Democrat operatives.”) This theory, which is explained in more detail in the brief, reflects the divisions which currently plague the Republican Party and can be traced back to several groups which intended to rally first time precinct delegates to change the GOP in Michigan. Many of whom were trained prior to the election season, refocusing precinct delegates from their traditional role as candidate support, to becoming Alinsky-style “disrupters.”
Asked if he sees this infiltration as a statewide issue, Matt DePerno stated, “Yes, but read the brief and my response against the plaintiffs. There’s a roadmap for other counties trying to confront their insurgents so they can fight the real enemy: the Democrats.” He went on to say, “We need to fight for our state and country, not each other. This case has more to come.” Asked what he means, he replied “I love my country and we need to fight to save it. We need to embrace our constitution and it’s principles and to include everyone who shares our values. Some of those people practice other religions, not just Christianity, of which I love and practice every day, but we have a Constitution, and we need to follow it. There are state statutes that the Republican establishment has unnecessarily followed, that have been deemed unconstitutional for over 30 years. The democrats understand this, why can’t our party? Other counties need to take control and refocus on fighting Democrats. Only then will the system regain its balance and stability.”
The outcome of this case will determine many things statewide. Other counties have been watching Kalamazoo and are following their lead in regaining the Party’s primary purpose: putting Republican candidates in office.