(LifeSiteNews) — A Michigan judge ended what was becoming a full-blown civil war inside the state’s Republican Party.
On Tuesday, February 27, Kent County Judge Joseph Rossi sided against Kristina Karamo in her lawsuit challenging her disputed removal as head of the Michigan GOP earlier this year.
Karamo, who has previously described abortion as a “Satanic” sacrifice, is now banned from presenting herself as the party’s chairwoman, a role she assumed after rallying grassroots activists to elect her to the post in January 2023.
Depending on who you talk to, Karamo was removed for poor fundraising and management skills. Her supporters, on the other hand, argue that her cancellation was retribution for promoting America First policies that the establishment didn’t like as well as for a lawsuit she filed in 2023 that sought to root out party corruption.
“It was a total coup,” Montcalm County delegate Bill Jaglowski told LifeSiteNews via telephone earlier this week.
Karamo was purportedly ousted on January 6 when a meeting that neither she nor any of the party’s ranking members called to order. Michigan currently has 106 state committee members who vote for leadership positions.
At the gathering, just over 40 members were present. Karamo supporters argue that that violated the party’s bylaws because that number did not constitute a quorum needed to conduct official business. Regardless, those who were present voted to remove Karamo. Former GOP Congressman Pete Hoekstra was voted in at a separate January 20 meeting.
Jaglowski also told LifeSiteNews that the removal, which Rossi deemed legal but described as “sharp-elbow tactics,” took place with alternates and proxies acting on behalf of Hoekstra. He then noted that some people should not have been allowed to vote due to residency and signature irregularities.
“They had to do it this way because if everyone got together under one roof, Hoekstra wouldn’t stand a chance,” he exclaimed.
Hoekstra is a household name to many Michigan voters. He served as a U.S. Representative for Michigan’s 2nd Congressional District from 1993 until 2011. Known for being a moderate, he has close ties to the DeVos and Van Andel families, billionaires who live on the state’s west side that have backed globalist politicians and policies for decades. Betsy DeVos served as Donald Trump’s Secretary of Education.
While in office, Hoekstra chaired the House Intelligence Committee. He also served as Trump’s ambassador to the Netherlands from 2018 until 2021.
Perhaps sensing that grassroots candidates have not been successful in statewide Michigan races in recent years, Trump congratulated Hoekstra on the new job before Rossi made his decision. The National Republican Party also declared Hoekstra the rightful Michigan chairman earlier this year. The Michigan GOP noted at the time that it does not submit to what the national party says about state affairs.
Karamo experienced a meteoritic rise in Michigan politics over the past five years. After gaining support from party activists for blowing the whistle on purported voter fraud in 2020, she was backed by former President Trump in her race against incumbent Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson in 2022, a campaign Karamo lost by more than 10 percentage points.
Karamo has been a strong supporter of medical freedom and vaccine choice. She previously said that “demonic possession is real” and that certain singers in the music industry are tools of the devil. Karamo invited anti-woke actor Jim Caviezel to speak at the Mackinac Republican Leadership Convention in 2023. She has also been unapologetic in her belief that President Trump’s re-election bid was stolen.
Before Tuesday’s ruling, Karamo and Hoekstra were set to hold dueling state conventions on March 2. Karamo’s was to be conducted in Detroit and Hoekstra’s was set for Grand Rapids at the Amway Hotel, which is owned by the DeVos and Van Andel families.
Hoekstra said in a statement this week that “it is time to unite and move forward with the business (of) delivering the state of Michigan for our party’s presumptive nominee, Donald J. Trump.”
Karamo told the Detroit Free Press that she will abide by the ruling but that it is too early to tell if she will appeal the decision.
Trump trounced Nikki Haley in Michigan’s Republican presidential primary race Tuesday by capturing 68 percent of the vote. Michigan voters supported Trump in 2016 but switched to Biden in 2020. Most polls show that its 15 electoral college votes will be a toss-up for the upcoming 2024 general election.