The Surprise City Council has quietly repealed one of its rules for public comment at meetings that ended with a resident escorted out of a session in handcuffs.
Rebekah Massie's lawyers say that doesn’t change much.
The move comes close to a month after the arrest of Massie after she criticized a city official during a public comment session.
Attorney Conor Fitzpatrick says the lawsuit she filed against the city and mayor will move forward.
"Even if the rule has been repealed," said Fitzpatrick, "the city still needs to answer for the fact that they hauled a mother out in handcuffs from a public meeting in front of her 10-year-old daughter for doing nothing more than exercising her First Amendment right."
He says that without what happened and the following suit, the rule would likely have stuck around and potentially discouraged others from participating in public spaces.
"We're also concerned that when people see these rules, they might decide not to go to their local school board meeting or their City Council meeting," said Fitzpatrick.
A statement from the city of Surprise indicated that while other Arizona cities have similar rules, this one is under review to strike a balance between what it called the city’s right to efficient, civil meetings and the public’s right to speak.
