Berrien County GOP event featuring pardoned Jan. 6 rioters creates division within community
Michigan GOP gubernatorial candidate Ryan Kelley attends a right-wing rally at the state Capitol, Feb. 8, 2022 | Laina G. Stebbins
A fundraiser set to be held Friday night by the Berrien County GOP has drawn criticism for hosting Jan. 6 rioters in a local American Legion hall.
The fundraiser, 'Battlefield Michigan: Untold Stories from Michigan Freedom Fighters,' will be held at American Legion Post 568 in Stevensville and will feature two men charged, and since pardoned by President Donald Trump, for their roles in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol – including former gubernatorial candidate Ryan Kelley. It will also host William and Michael Null, who were acquitted of plotting to kidnap and kill Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
A flyer for the event calls the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol a 'mostly peaceful protest about a stolen election.' A bipartisan U.S. Senate report found that at least seven people died in connection with the riot, including three law enforcement officers.
After the event was announced, criticism came from within the veterans community itself about hosting such a divisive event.
Marty Goldrick, a veteran and former member of the American Legion, told WNDU he was opposed to the openly partisan nature of the fundraiser.
'First of all, they bring these people in, but then they divide the American Legion, veterans, forcing them because there's Democrats and Republicans, Independents in any organization, but this thing here is a wedge. To glorify these people is unacceptable,' Goldrick told the station.
Once the criticism mounted, the Herald-Palladium reported that the American Legion attempted to cancel the event, and issued a statement saying officials had not been told about the nature of the fundraiser at the time it was booked.
'Upon learning the nature of the event, from an outside source, the post attempted to cancel the event but was unable to do so because of contractual obligations and the dollar amount requested by the Berrien County GOP to allow the post out of the contract. The American Legion is a non-partisan organization and has no position on the subject matter being presented at the fundraiser and is not a part of the fundraiser,' the statement said.
The county party, in a statement posted to Facebook, said there was an 'effort underway on social media to sabotage our event and disparage the Berrien County GOP,' and that canceling the event would constitute a breach of the contract they had both signed.
'We simply want to give Ryan Kelley and our other guests an opportunity to share their experience and perspective because they deserve the opportunity to tell their story and set the record straight. The public deserves an opportunity to hear their stories,' said the statement.
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