Neil Friske faces multiple felony charges, including sexual assault, assault of a sexual nature, and a felony weapons charge.



The Ingham County Prosecutor told the police to keep investigating. Friske was released from county lockup today.

In other news, the Supreme Court again upheld its ruling that red flag laws do not violate the Second Amendment.

UPDATE! STATE REP NEIL FRISKE MET THE ADULT DANCER AT DEJA VU.

State news reporting today that Republican State House Rep Neil Friske of the 107th has been sitting in a Lansing, MI, jail since early Thursday morning. Major news outlets so far say the reason is undisclosed at this time.

State Rep. Neil Friske, R-Charlevoix, was arrested around 2:45 a.m. on the 2000 block of Windbreak Lane in Lansing and remained in custody Thursday, Lansing Police Public Information Director Jordan Gulkins confirmed to the Free Press. Gulkins said potential charges for Friske remain under review, and declined to reveal the nature of Friske’s arrest. Should any charge be filed, Gulkins said an arraignment would take place Friday or Saturday.

According to MIRS:

Ah, so he’s acting like a typical conservative Republican.

If chasing an adult dancer through the streets of Lansing while packing heat is true, according to MIRS, Neil Friske might be in some serious trouble. We will have to wait and see.

If you don’t know who the Friske family is, they are a northern Michigan fruit farmer producing apples and other produce on land purchased by Richard Friske Senior shortly after arriving in the United States after World War II.



Only days after yet another mass shooting happened in Michigan, this time at a water park in Rochester Hills, state media reported a dozen Republicans in Lansing sponsored a bill to make the AR-15 the official state rifle.

Adopting state emblems began in the late 19th century. Michigan adopted the apple blossom in 1897. Over time, the robin became the state bird, the white pine became the state tree, and the Petosky stone became the state stone. Today, Michigan has a state fossil, the mastodon, a state soil, Kalkaska sand, and, in 2023, a state grain, manoomin, or wild rice.

Residents of Michigan choose symbols because they are significant to the history and culture of the state. This is true for all states. What is substantial culturally or historically about the AR-15 in Michigan? If you consider the assault rifle itself, absolutely nothing.

Ten states in the United States have firearms as official state symbols. Most of the guns have historical significance or are manufactured in the state. Utah was the first to adopt, but not everyone in the state legislature was happy with the adoption.

The AR-15 isn’t manufactured in Michigan. It has no historical significance, and it is not a symbol that unifies the people of Michigan; it does just the opposite.

The AR-15 is the phallic compensator of choice for the gravy seals, y’allqada, and ammosexuals of Michigan. You know, these idiots:


Republicans sponsoring this bill do not want to unify the state with a new official symbol. This is a dog whistle to the weekend warriors.

This bill has no chance of reaching the House floor for a vote. The audacity of introducing a bill to add the AR-15 to the same list as the white pine, the Petoskey stone, and the apple blossom when we have a mass shooting as recently as four days ago shows the Republican party’s lack of empathy for Michigan. The cruelty is the point. Read the list of sponsors. Find out who is running against them. Vote for their opponents on August 6th and November 5th.

 

May the world be blessed with peace.



It seems only a year ago that a former Republican Speaker of the State House was found guilty of taking bribes for medical marijuana dispensary licenses. That’s because it is! Today, Attorney General Dana Nessel read the charges against Lee Chatfield and his wife in Lansing. Both are charged with misusing social welfare account contributions and stealing from taxpayers. Happy crooked Republican Speaker of the House anniversary!



Lee Chatfield was charged with:


  • One count of Conducting a Criminal Enterprise, a 20-year felony;
  • Four counts of Embezzlement from a Non-Profit Organization, $1,000 to $20,000, a felony punishable by 10 years’ incarceration and/or a $15,000 fine;
  • Three counts of Embezzlement by a Public Officer Over $50, a felony punishable by 10 years’ incarceration and/or a $5,000 fine;
  • One count of Conspiracy to Commit Embezzlement from a Non-Profit Organization, $1,000 to $20,000, a felony punishable by 10 years’ incarceration and/or a $15,000 fine and an additional $10,000 fine;
  • Three counts of Embezzlement, $1,000-$20,000, a felony punishable by 5 years’ incarceration and/or a $10,000 fine; and
  • One count of a Felony Violation of the Charitable Trust Act, a felony punishable by 5 years’ incarceration and/or a $10,000 fine.

Stephanie Chatfield was charged with:

  • Embezzlement from a Non-Profit Organization, $1,000 to $20,000, a felony punishable by 10 years’ incarceration and/or a $15,000 fine; and
  • Conspiracy to Commit Embezzlement from a Non-Profit Organization, $1,000 to $20,000, a felony punishable by 10 years’ incarceration and/or a $15,000 fine and an additional $10,000 fine.



The flaccid Michigan Campaign Finance Act makes it easy for politicians to receive contributions and use them any way they want. Chatfield’s 501(c)(4), The Peninsula Fund, was not so much a social welfare fund but Lee and Stephanie’s personal slush fund. They used voters’ donations to go to Vegas, Universal Orlando, the Bahamas, and Maine. They bought expensive gifts and wine and paid off $132,000 in personal credit card expenses.


The Michigan Automobile Dealers Association, a lobbying firm headed by Terry Burns, also provided Lee Chatfield with a $775 monthly apartment rented from Walnut Tree Properties. Chatfield sublet one of the bedrooms for $250.00 per month and, as Speaker of the State House, had control over the bills he put up for a vote.


Kickbacks, embezzlement, charging Michigan taxpayers over twelve grand for miles he never drove. Lee Chatfield used his position and power to enrich himself and his family financially. Never forget that Chatfield got involved in politics because his state rep, Frank Foster, was going to vote in favor of including LGBTQ people in the Elliot-Larson Civil Rights Act. That video of him handcuffed at the Pellston airport after he tried to board a plane with a loaded, unregistered handgun still holds up for high entertainment value.

Michigan campaign finance needs an overhaul. So does our state legislature. Vote the rest of the MAGA bastards out in 2024.



While most Michiganders were looking forward to the Detroit Lions playing in the NFC championship game last weekend, some of our elected representatives spent their time on Twitter Spaces discussing how to deny life-saving medical care to trans youth (and adults) in Michigan. A state representative from Ohio and a de-transitioning person named Prisha talked about the dangers of youth transitioning and the money-hungry doctors and clinics preying on the innocent to provide that care.



Prisha told their story in helping get the anti-trans law passed. Michigan state reps added their commentary and asked questions.

Josh Schriver (R – Endgame guy) was the first to speak. He immediately demanded the ban on gender-affirming care to include adults.

My whole thing is, in terms of endgame, why are we allowing these practices for anyone? Why would we stop this for anyone under 18, but not apply this for anyone over 18? It’s harmful across the board, and I think that’s something that we need to take into consideration in terms of the endgame.

If you’re not familiar with him, Josh Schriver represents the new 66th State House District in Macomb County. So far this year, he’s vowed to have all religions, not conservative evangelical Christianity, stripped of their tax-exempt status, insists God elected him, not the voters, and tried to hand Governor Whitmer a bible last week at the State of the State Address. He’s a big fan of Nick Fuentes.

Gary Click (R – Jungle Journalism) is the Ohio State rep who spearheaded the trans ban law in Ohio. He praised Schriver for his “very smart thinking” but then suggested that “we need to take small bites,” meaning we need to ban access for people under 18 before we include adults. Click mentions, however, that with the closing of gender care clinics, adult trans patients also lose access to the medications they need. He talks about how this was an unintended positive outcome of the trans ban law and finishes with the statement, “Puberty is the cure for gender dysphoria.” Click is a church pastor who became infamous when offering a prayer at a Trump rally where he asked God to protect Trump from the evils of jungle journalism.

100 State House Rep Tom Kunse(R – Ask me about HB 4080) asked Click what was the timeline? Was this a two-year fight or a five-year fight? Click explained the process started before he was elected and that it took about three years. Tom Kunse thinks fetuses need tax-exempt status. He tried to steal land from Isabella County in 2006 and is currently under investigation for his part in a 25 million-dollar health clinic construction deal. Before taking office in Lansing, his family’s real estate business sold land to developers.

Michigan State Senator Lana Theis of the 22nd State Senate district was the last to speak. She touted her bachelor’s degree in biology as giving her expertise in how youth brains are still developing and, therefore, unable to comprehend what they’re going through as they mature fully.

Theil insists parents of trans children are also victims. A cosmetic surgeon friend of hers confided in her that gender transition surgery is just cosmetic and provides no fulfillment. She ends her comments by saying young people with gender dysphoria must be told:

You were born in the correct body. You were perfect the way you were born. Let’s work with making you okay with it.

Lana Theil is one of the loudest voices in the state senate working to kill the Gotion factory deal and calls her co-workers pedophile groomers.

Brad Paquette (R – really has pronoun issues) hosted the online meeting. He thanked everyone for being there and then promised Josh Schriver they would talk about the good stuff offline before signing off.

Find people to run for office in your districts. Suppose the Republicans somehow manage to take over the state house or senate despite the infighting, dueling party chairs, and bankrupting themselves. In that case, the Ohio trans-ban bill will migrate north to Lansing. The endgame is the final solution.

In case you pay no attention to local politics (and you really should), the Michigan Republican Party seems to be in disarray. Since Kristine “f*** it! I’ll kill us all!” Karamo came under fire for allegedly mishandling funds and the abysmal Mackinac Island hoedown, the MIGOP, who can’t gather anywhere without a fight breaking out, have now decided it’s time for a change in leadership. Or at least some of them have. Or least some of them have decided it’s time to give Karamo the boot.

In the past week, warring factions of the MIGOP have voted each other off the island. Karamo is out, although she says nah. Malinda Pego was voted in, but the Karamo camp banned her from the GOP for the next 5 years.

 

 

And that’s not all. The MIGOP is broke too.

This is not over. Stay tuned.



United States Congressman John Moolenaar (R-中国; 中國) loves to misinform his constituents. His emails, media ad buys, and social media are rife with outright lies. His devotion to lying makes it curious that in his email dated December 18, 2023, he explains he voted ‘Yea’ to open an impeachment investigation for President Biden on December 13, 2023, because he wants to “uncover the facts.”
Moolenaar doesn’t share what any of those ‘facts’ could be in the email, but he does reach out for constituent comments. The subject of the email is “Do You Support Impeachment?”


Guaranteed, if anyone bothers to click that link and complete the survey, no one will read it. Engaging with John Moolenaar in any way is also pointless and counterproductive. The more you pay attention to him, the more people think what he says matters. Moolenaar’s survey does ask, “Share Your Thoughts,” so why not? Just don’t do it there. Moolenaar couldn’t care less what you think.

The best way to share thoughts about this lying sack is on your platform. Therefore, here are Up North Progressive’s thoughts about Seditious Prick John Moolenaar and all of the lies he tells you.

John Moolenaar, with 105 others, signed the Amicus Brief in support of Texas’s lawsuit to invalidate the 2020 election results. If the Supreme Court had voted in favor of this case, John Moolenaar’s victory would have been invalidated. Maybe he didn’t think that through.

In 2023, however, Moolenaar doubled down on “the 2020 election was stolen” rhetoric by inviting Constitutional Sheriff Kim Cole to attend the State of the Union Address as his guest. It doesn’t take much to guess Moolenaar’s motivation for impeaching President Biden.

Moolenaar’s congressional conduct goes beyond the 2020 election. John Moolenaar is actively working to defund the WHO because … ? Moolenaar in March of 2023, told Health and Human Services Secretary Yellen that if the COVID emergency is over, $90 billion in ARPA funds should be used to pay down the national debt instead of funding veteran pensions. Moolenaar is well-known for claiming he supports veterans.

Moolenaar’s voting record is a laundry list of his blatant lying. From voting in favor of resolutions to denounce the horrors of socialism to the Save Our Gas Stoves Act to voting no to eject fellow habitual liar, George Santos, Moolenaar votes for supporting his falsehoods instead of what the people of the Second Congressional District need. You know, like jobs?



John Moolenaar has lied the loudest about the Gotion battery plant coming to Big Rapids, Michigan. With a business willing to go to a job-starved region of the state with billions in investments for the community and over 2000 jobs, you would think that in a state with 50 Chinese co-owned businesses operating, that one more wouldn’t matter. According to Moolenaar, this one factory will not only force employees to join the Chinese Communist Party, but it will also be a spy base for the Chinese military to keep tabs on Camp Grayling 100 miles to the north. Scary things like spying, stealing technology, then kicking the Americans out of business, and ultimately, intelligence gathering for the ultimate goal of the Chinese – declare war on the United States – are the goals of the Gotion battery plant.

Ironically, John Moolenaar appeared in a video created by the EV Taxpayer Task Force. The YouTube channel and website can be traced back to a company based in France called Avisa Partners. One of their partners is Syngenta, based out of …. wait for it …. CHINA!

How much Chinese money did John Moolenaar receive to appear in that video? Did John Moolenaar have to join the CCP first? Perhaps we must extend Moolenaar’s anti-Chinese legislation to include John Moolenaar’s activities.

Just scratching the surface of the thoughts Up North Progressive would love to share with John Moolenaar.