GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Lawyers were back in court Tuesday afternoon for a third day of testimony regarding the state Republican Party’s removal of Kristina Karamo as chair.
Lawyers for a portion of the MIGOP filed a lawsuit against Karamo in an effort to have a court say she was properly removed and, therefore, no longer the rightful leader of the party.
Judge J. Joseph Rossi heard testimony last week on Wednesday and Thursday regarding a motion for what is called a preliminary injunction.
Plaintiffs in the case against Karamo want an expedited ruling forcing her to acknowledge her ouster.
This lawsuit was filed on Jan. 19 by a number of people within the state party.
They are also seeking to get Karamo to return access to party bank accounts, social media accounts and email accounts, as well.
Karamo was elected chair of the state Republican Party in February 2023 after a previous unsuccessful run for secretary of state.
On Jan. 6, 2024, a number of party members convened a meeting where they voted to remove Karamo.
Former Ambassador to the Netherlands Pete Hoekstra was elected to take her place.
Karamo maintains that she is still party chair, as those voting for her ouster did so without properly following party bylaws.
On Tuesday morning, she posted a message to her X (formerly Twitter) account saying, “The court case in Kent County is not complex. Either easily-understood bylaws criteria for removing me were satisfied at the 1/6/24 meeting, or not.”
“Those engineering-complexity that hides simplicity, seem to serve a predetermined outcome,” the message adds.
In fact, nearly all of the testimony in support or against the preliminary injunction so far has centered around whether or not party members in attendance at the Jan. 6 meeting properly followed party bylaws.
There has been extended discussions regarding the use of “proxies” during her removal vote, or people sitting in for other party members.
Eighth District Chair for the Party Anne Delisle spoke from the stand on Wednesday and Thursday regarding her acting as secretary pro temp at the Jan. 6 meeting.
Delisle argued that she only cast one vote at the meeting, despite technically serving two roles.
The party’s secretary, Angela Gillisse, who was elected in April 2023, took the stand first thing Tuesday afternoon.
She told Karamo’s lawyers that she personally believes the chair was not properly removed.
In speaking with plaintiff lawyers, Gillisse said she has never made any attempt to contact Pete Hoekstra, nor was she in attendance at the Jan. 6 meeting.
Based on her understanding, Delisle acted improperly at the Jan. 6 meeting, saying she could not serve both roles regardless of the votes cast.
When asked if Delisle was actively the 8th District chair at the meeting, Gillisse responded, “Well, yes, she would have been but not if she was also representing as the secretary, because the bylaws say you can’t serve two roles, so if you serve one, you vacate the first.”
Gillisse made claims on the stand that multiple party members present and casting votes at the Jan. 6 meeting were not in good standing with the party, as they had not properly paid their annual party due fees.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs in the case ended their cross-examination of Gillisse by stating that she herself had not properly paid her party dues for the year.
“She is not in good standing,” the lead plaintiff attorney told Judge Rossi.
They argue that this preliminary injunction is necessary at the moment because Karamo is actively damaging the party and its reputation by refusing to acknowledge her removal.
Those who deem Hoekstra the party’s rightful leader are hoping to clear up any “confusion” about party leadership ahead of a planned March 2 convention date in Grand Rapids.
Karamo’s faction of the GOP is planning to hold their own convention on March 2 in Detroit.
Attorneys for Karamo insist the injunction is unnecessary and that party members should choose between the two planned conventions.
Judge Rossi talked for more than an hour as he delivered his decision just after 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.
He said that Karamo was removed properly at a meeting convened by a portion of party leadership on January 6, 2024.
As part of his preliminary injunction, Judge Rossi barred Karamo from identifying herself as chair of the Michigan Republican Party in any capacity.
She is not allowed to act as a representative of the party in public, online or to the media.
Karamo was present in court Tuesday afternoon, arriving late in the day for the end of testimony.
Speaking after court ended, Karamo said she would not comment regarding whether or not the convention she has promoted for March 2 in Detroit will still happen.
Pete Hoekstra issued the following statement after Judge Rossi's order:
"The MIGOP State Committee, the RNC, President Trump and now a court of law have all reviewed the January 6 meeting and there is unanimous agreement that the former chair was properly removed, and I was elected as the new chairman of the Michigan Republican Party.
"It is time to unite and move forward with the business delivering the state of Michigan for our party's presumptive nominee, Donald J. Trump."
