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Politics
John E. Finn, Professor Emeritus of Government, Wesleyan University

How 'constitutional county' declarations undermine the Constitution – a legal scholar explains

Ottawa County Commissioners Joe Moss, left, and Sylvia Rhodea ran for the positions vowing they would 'thwart tyranny' in the community. Evan Cobb for The Washington Post via Getty Images

Declaring its community a “constitutional county” on May 23, 2023, the Board of County Commissioners in Ottawa County, Michigan, voted 9-1 not to enforce any law or rule that “restricts the rights of any law-abiding citizen affirmed by the United States Constitution.”

Nor will the county provide aid or resources to any state or federal agency that county officials judge to be infringing on or restricting those rights.

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