Court rules against 'America First' faction in ongoing Republican rift
HILLSDALE — Lenawee County Circuit Judge Michael Olsaver granted a preliminary injunction Nov. 15 in favor of the “Leininger faction” of the Hillsdale County Republican Party in the ongoing rift with the “America First” faction chaired by Darren Wiseley.
“We are very pleased that the court upheld the rule of law,” Brent Leininger stated in an email. “It is clear that the court gave careful consideration to the arguments and afforded both sides a fair opportunity to be heard.”
Despite the court's ruling, Jon Smith, the "America First" sect's secretary, stated in a text message to The Hillsdale Daily News that his faction would hold a county convention as planned Thursday, Nov. 17.
"Let us be clear: This injunction does not mean they are the party," Smith stated. "State central determines who is and who is not the official and sanctioned party. Period. The official and state-sanctioned Hillsdale County Republican Party is moving forward with our convention this Thursday," Smith wrote.
Leininger’s faction filed for the preliminary injunction on Oct. 12 seeking a declaratory judgment that “the purported removal of elected delegates of the Hillsdale County Republican Executive Committee was improper, that the barring of elected delegates from the (county) convention was improper and that a special meeting on Aug. 25, 2022 was validly held pursuant to public notice.”
Leininger’s faction also asked the court to rule “the individuals elected as officers at the Aug. 25 special meeting are the recognized leadership of the Hillsdale County Republican Party and that the chair of the Hillsdale County Republican Executive Committee must call a meeting of all duly elected and certified delegates from Hillsdale County within 20 days after the November election to select the next executive committee.”
Josh Gritzmaker, Belle Stier and Jon-Paul Rutan — executive committee members of the “America First” faction of the HCRP — all responded to the complaint issued in October and disputed Leininger’s request. Darren Wiseley, Lance Lashaway and Jon Smith did not respond and were defaulted for failure to plead or otherwise defend their positions.
More:Hillsdale County GOP feud lands in court after dueling factions claim control
The court found that Leininger’s faction would likely prevail on the merits of their claims, that Leininger’s faction would likely suffer irreparable harm if an injunction was not issued and that there was risk Leininger’s faction would be harmed more by the absence of an injunction.
“We have said all along that our position was consistent with Michigan’s election law and the bylaws of both the Michigan Republican State Committee and the Hillsdale County Republican Executive Committee,” Leininger stated. “We look forward to moving past the controversy of 2022 and working together to elect candidates who uphold the ideals of the Republican Party but above all else the rule of law.”
"We encourage all of the great conservative citizens of Hillsdale County to stand with us against tyrannical government," Smith stated. "We must indeed all hang together or most assuredly we shall all hang separately."
The court’s ruling stated the “America First” faction failed to follow the appropriate procedure for noticing the special meeting of the HCRP executive committee held on July 28 where dozens of members of the party were disavowed including Leininger.
“The evidence currently available to the court demonstrates that, in the absence of an injunction, defendants (the “America First” faction) will continue attempting to exercise the powers of the Hillsdale County Republican Executive Committee, which they do not legitimately hold,” Olsaver opined. “An injunction preventing defendants from doing this causes them no harm. Therefore it is ordered that defendants shall not assert or attempt to assert any authority over, interfere or attempt to interfere with, participate or attempt to participate in the operations of the HCRP until this court has rendered a final decision on the merits of this case.”
The party rift became evident Aug. 11 when Leininger’s faction and dozens of newly elected precinct delegates from the Aug. 2 primary election were barred from entering the county convention held at Sozo Church.
On Aug. 25, days before the state’s convention, Leininger’s faction convened its own meeting and elected a temporary executive committee to serve through the end of the year, ousting Wiseley and the “America First” faction, who dismissed the Leininger faction’s actions that day as unlawful.
Reportedly, the “America First” faction then stated it would also bar Leininger’s faction from entering and participating in a November county convention where a new executive committee board would be elected to take office Jan. 1, 2023, for a two-year term.
Smith issued a lengthy statement on social media following Leininger’s court filing in mid-October.
Smith opened up his statement by reiterating claims that Leininger’s faction “rigged the 2022 precinct delegate election.”
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“What is the point of this court case other than to hurt the Republican name?” Smith rhetorically asked. “Regardless, the party executive board steps down in a month. I made it public back in the early spring that I was planning on stepping down as secretary and had zero interest in running for the position again. The same was true for several of the other officers including the chair and vice chair.”
Smith called the court case a waste of time, energy and money.
“I believe the reason behind all of this starts with our censure of the most corrupt senator, Mike Shirkey,” Smith continued. “In my opinion, the majority of the Republican ‘local government’ body in Hillsdale County seeks to have unchallenged power without being questioned and without doing any of the hard work. They have a lot of growing up to do and personally, they can all kiss my ass!”
— Corey Murray is a staff writer for The Hillsdale Daily News who can be reached by email at cmurray@hillsdale.net. Follow him on Twitter: @cmurrayHDN.
This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Court rules against 'America First' faction in ongoing Republican rift
