Charges against attorney at Leighton vote dismissed

Charges of trespassing and disturbing the peace against Constitutional attorney Katherine Henry were dismissed Thursday in Allegan County District Court in connection with an incident on Election Day November 2020 in Leighton Township.

“Now it is time to sue for false arrest and damages all those involved in this Allegan County mafia style judicial and government system. Leighton Township and its clerk, Allegan County Sheriff Frank Baker and the specific deputies, the Allegan County Prosecutor Myrene Kay Koch and those from her office that pursued this unlawful farce,” posted Stephen Young, chairman of the Tea Party of Allegan County and a Republican candidate for county commissioner in the Aug. 2 primary election.

District Judge Bill Baillargeon dismissed the charges.

Young added on Facebook, “Judge Bill B.could no longer ignore the obvious even though he certainly wanted to do that. His so-called manhood was in a slowly tightening vice, and he just had to remove that pain, which was only getting worse day by day… Interesting that Judge Bill B. admitted that an individual has the right to not only protest, but even resist arrest a false arrest. That is a true, but amazing admission by any judge, let alone one from Allegan County.”

Henry, of Hudsonville, was arrested on Nov. 8, 2020, after she showed up at the Leighton Township polling site and was accused by Leighton officials of disrupting the election process. The founder of the Restore Freedom Initiative, she was ordered to leave the premises of the Leighton Township Hall on the afternoon of Election Day for trying to collect petition signatures.

Henry was soliciting petition signatures near the township hall during Tuesday’s general election, which prompted local officials to order her to vacate the site.

Stephen Young, chairman of the Allegan County Patriots, said then, “This appears to be the Allegan County Sheriff’s Department intimidating free speech and right to assemble.”

County Sheriff’s deputies ordered Henry to leave Leighton Township property after she failed to comply with Township Clerk’ Mary Lou Niewenhuis’ request she do so. She posted the confrontation between her and a deputy on You Tube, maintaining she was threatened with arrest.

Henry set up a table at the township hall parking lot to collect signatures for a Restore Freedom petition, to amend the state constitution to “reign back in government power.”  She insisted her operation was in compliance with rules to distance at least 100 feet from the township hall.

She said in the video, “They are, he (the deputy) says, going to arrest me if we don’t leave right now because the township owns this property and the township said we have to leave.”

The attorney said Allegan County Sheriff Frank Baker had been in contact with Barry County Sheriff Dar Leaf to discuss the incident.

Henry said she and Leaf are both members of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, which asserts county sheriffs are America’s “last hope” to turn the country around and get it back “on the freedom track laid for us by our Founders.” Leaf has been widely criticized for his comments about two of the 14 men arrested in connection with the alleged plot to kidnap and execute Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Henry insisted there is a law that allows for dissemination of campaign literature as long as the person doing so is beyond 100 feet from the entrance of an election polling site.

Henry afterward said in a Facebook post that she was handcuffed and placed in the back of the cruiser.

Some local officials have suggested Henry deliberately staged the event and alerted local media in order to gain publicity for her cause.