Commissioner pushes back against statements
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ESCANABA -- A Delta County commissioner pushed back against what he said were slanderous statements used by those seeking his recall that alleged he is a white nationalist, a militia member and part of the 2020 plot to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
"I was also not involved in any attempt to kidnap our governor. This and many other lies have been told about not only myself, but Commissioner Moyle and Barron trying to build a case for recall," Petersen said during a statement he gave Tuesday at the Delta County Board meeting. (See related story.)
The first reference to statements about the commissioners came from Gladstone resident Brian Godfrey, who presented the commission with a copy of a paper that he said was being circulated with the petitions for the commissioner's recall.
"About two weeks ago, somebody called me over -- I don't really know this person -- handed me this and said, 'Hey listen, I was just told that I need to sign this petition because two people on the board were in collusion with kidnapping Gretchen Whitmer,' and so, they asked me if that was true and I said, 'Not that I'm aware of,'" said Godfrey.
The document makes a number of statements about the board and its members that are outside the scope of the recall petition language, which specifies that the commissioners are being recalled over the termination of former Delta County Administrator Emily DeSalvo on Feb. 7. It does not say that Petersen or any of the other commissioners were involved in the kidnapping plot.
The document does, however, refer to the county's recently-hired attorney, Scott Graham, as Commission Chair Dave Moyle's "personal attorney." Graham is perhaps best known for defending Kaleb Franks, one of the men charged in the Whitmer kidnapping plot.
"Scott Graham has never been my personal attorney. That is not true. As far as -- he did represent someone who was in on the kidnap Whitmer plot. Neither myself nor Bob had anything to do with that," Moyle said.
Most of the items included on the paper presented by Godfrey were not addressed Tuesday, but Petersen's statement touched on more than claims of his involvement in the plot to kidnap Whitmer.
One of Petersen's primary concerns was the repeated claim that he was a member of the far-right militia group, the Three Percenters. The claim stems from a photo of the Three Percenters flag posted as his Facebook cover photo.
"I'm not a member of the Three Percent -- never have been, even though I did tell somebody online that I was. I did, but I'm not a member and I never have been, or any other militia, for that matter. I am surely not a recruiter like I was accused of online. I just thought the flag was interesting so I took a picture of it," said Petersen.
Petersen has previously told the Daily Press his statement online was made as part of an argument on Facebook. He said he was trying to get a rise out of the other person involved.
Petersen also said Tuesday that he was not involved in an anti-lockdown protest that took place in Lansing on April 30, 2020. He said he could confirm he was not there because he had made a cash withdrawal from his checking account in Escanaba that day.
During his statement, Petersen held up a flyer that had been given to him at a prior county meeting by a member of the effort for his recall. The full-page, color image showed Petersen, eyes covered with black X's, and the words "proud white nationalist" emblazoned across the top.
"If this is what we've got to deal with being county commissioners, I guess that's what we have to deal with, but I think it's -- I think it's foul that … people would put out such a thing," he said.
Unlike Moyle and fellow commissioner, Bob Barron, signatures seeking Petersen's recall are still being collected and have not been submitted to the county clerk's office.
Early reports from the clerk's office indicate that at least 671 of the signatures needed to recall Moyle have been verified. Only 666 are needed, but Moyle has until Oct. 25 to challenge the signatures. An additional 91 signatures have not been verified by the clerk's office, but may be verified if necessary.
There has been no word as to the status of the signatures for the recall effort to remove Barron. On Oct. 5, 1,235 signatures were submitted. Only 1,001 must be valid for that recall to move forward.