Former Chairwoman Kristina Karamo, who the party ousted earlier this year, was escorted out by Flint police after wearing an all access credential that she wasn’t entitled to, according to a Michigan GOP source.
She was asked to wear a guest or campaign staff credential, but she allegedly refused and was asked to leave because she wasn’t allowed on the delegate floor.
“Pete Hoekstra wants me thrown out of the convention; I’m here supporting a candidate,” Karamo told reporters as she was being escorted out. “I did not cause any disruption. I didn’t scream or yell. I didn’t do anything wrong. All I did was walk in and support the candidate.”
“This is why the Michigan Republican Party — look at the convention, people yelling, booing, why? ‘Cause of the corruption in the party,” she continued.
Onlookers thanked her as she walked out the door. Also during the video, a voice is heard saying, “That credential is our property. We’re gonna want that back before she leaves the property.” In the video, she’s seen wearing the all-access credential.
Karamo’s removal from the convention appears to be the climax of intraparty drama in which the party’s state committee underwent a seemingly dubious process to remove her. Less than half of the state committee’s roughly 100 members took part in the Jan. 6 vote, and those in attendance changed the party’s bylaws to shift the voting threshold to oust a party chair from 75% to 60%.
Those in attendance reportedly voted 40-5 in favor of removing her, and Karamo was outraged, saying she remained the party’s chairwoman. She held a meeting with committee members on Jan. 13. who reportedly voted in favor of her 59-1.
A court settled the matter in February, ruling Karamo isn’t the party chairwoman, affirming that former Michigan Rep. Pete Hoekstra would take the mantle. Former President Donald Trump endorsed Hoekstra as the Michigan GOP leader.
But at Saturday’s convention, where the party is expected to nominate its candidate for Senate, former Rep. Mike Rogers, among others being nominated for statewide office, Hoekstra received a chilly reception. The crowd relentlessly booed him before and after Karamo was removed.
Hoekstra’s reception by the Michigan GOP crowd could illustrate continued support for Karamo within the party. While she was being removed, several onlookers yelled at police to refrain from touching her.
According to Bridge Michigan, another guest was removed by police and arrested for allegedly being belligerent and refusing to leave. The Detroit News reported the guest had shouted that Hoekstra was a “fake chair.”
“Due to the disruptive actions of a handful of participants, law enforcement have decided to increase their presence to ensure a safe and smooth convention,” Tyson Shepard, the Michigan GOP’s executive director, told the outlet.
Karamo came to prominence in 2020 as a poll watcher who denied that year’s election results and allegedly witnessed irregularities in vote counting. She later ran for Michigan secretary of state in 2022 but lost. She challenged the results of that election as well before she was elected to lead the state Republican Party in Feb. 2023.
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The state party was motivated to remove her as chairwoman because of fundraising woes within the organization that caused it to sink at least half a million into debt by Oct. 2023. She was removed in January.
Karamo was ultimately removed from the convention premises at the Dort Financial Center in Flint, according to reporting from the scene. The convention’s proceedings were delayed before delegates proceeded with voting.