Complaints pile up over Trump visit to Michigan sheriff’s office

The fallout continues from former President Trump’s visit to Howell last month, as the number of formal complaints has quadrupled.

The Aug. 20 event at the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office, billed as a press conference and discussion by Trump on “crime and safety” instead became by all appearances a campaign event, replete with pro-Trump banners, staged police vehicles, and a nearly hour-long speech by Trump mainly targeting his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris.

In the immediate aftermath, the Michigan Board of Elections (BOE) reported two complaints had been filed against both Livingston County Sheriff Mike Murphy, who agreed to and participated in the visit, as well as the sheriff’s office itself. Both complaints alleged the event violated Michigan Campaign Finance law by utilizing taxpayer resources for a partisan political purpose.

Michigan Secretary of State spokesperson Angela Benander told the Michigan Advance on Wednesday that the BOE has since received “at least six additional complaints on top of the two from a couple of weeks ago.”

Benander says all eight complaints — five of which are against Murphy, two against both Murphy and the sheriff’s office and another against just the sheriff’s office — are now in the investigation process.

At issue is MCL 169.257, a section of Michigan Campaign Law which expressly prohibits the use of any public resources for political campaign purposes including “funds, personnel, office space, computer hardware or software, property, stationery, postage, vehicles, equipment, supplies, or other public resources.”

That same statute is also at play involving similar complaints about a visit last month by GOP Vice Presidential nominee, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) to Macomb County, where he spoke outside the Shelby Township Police station, also on the topic of crime. At least one complaint was filed with the Board of Elections about that visit.

A knowing violation of the statute is a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment for an individual held liable of up to a year in jail and/or a fine up to $1,000. If the violator is not an individual, the fine could go as high as $20,000 or equal to the amount of the improper contribution or expenditure.

Murphy told the Advance prior to the Howell event that it was not political, but instead “simply a press conference” and opportunity to have someone vying for the highest office in the land speak on the topic of law enforcement.

On Tuesday, Murphy resigned from the board of LACASA, a local domestic violence prevention agency, with which he had served for 25 years. Officials with the nonprofit cited the “distraction” that resulted from Trump’s Aug. 20 visit in accepting Murphy’s resignation.

A day after his resignation, Murphy was featured in a campaign ad for the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), attacking both Harris and U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly), who is running against former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-White Lake) for Michigan’s U.S. Senate seat.

Rogers also spoke at the Aug. 20 event in Howell. Ironically, Rogers himself had at least a small part in creating the issues surrounding Trump’s visit that day. As a state Senator in 1999, he voted for legislation that specifically added federal elections to fall under MCL 169.257.