Michigan judge orders ousted GOP leader to resign

A court judge on Tuesday ordered Kristina Karamo, the ousted leader of Michigan Republicans, to give up her efforts to cling to power. But what that means for Saturday, when Ms. Karamo had promised to hold a presidential election duel, remains unclear.

“I have to follow the judge’s orders,” she told reporters after the hearing The Detroit Free Press.

She also called the statement “egregious” and said, “I’m not going to jail.” But she didn’t say when asked if she would abandon her plans for Saturday’s convention in Detroit.

In a two-page order, Judge J. Joseph Rossi of the 17th Circuit Court in Grand Rapids, Michigan, issued a preliminary injunction against the group of Republicans who voted to impeach her in January. He banned Ms Karamo from presenting herself as leader of the party and doing business in her name, including organizing meetings.

The judge found that a group of GOP leaders, disillusioned with transparency issues and money problems in the party, had followed the party’s bylaws when they voted on Jan. 6 to remove Ms. Karamo as chairman and later elected Pete Hoekstra, who led the Republican Party used to be. The National Committee was recognized as the rightful chairman earlier this month.

Mr Hoekstra, who had been denied access to the party’s bank and email accounts by Ms Karamo, said in an interview that he was “thrilled” by the ruling.

“When Michigan opens tomorrow, we’ll go to the banks,” Mr. Hoekstra said. He had a warning for Ms. Karamo’s statements: “If there are individuals who do not cooperate, as we have done so far, we will seek compliance through the courts.”

Ms. Karamo did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.

The judge also banned her from accessing the party’s bank accounts and post office boxes, and from communicating on social media on its behalf. In recent days, she had used the party’s social media accounts to promote its “convention” Saturday in Detroit.

The meeting was scheduled for 10 a.m. Eastern Time, the same time as Mr. Hoekstra’s organized statewide convention in Grand Rapids.

Both parties are loyal to former President Donald J. Trump, who weighed in on the leadership battle and backed Mr. Hoekstra, his former ambassador to the Netherlands and a former member of the House of Representatives.

Mr Hoekstra said he would not rule out a situation in which Ms Karamo continued with her competing meeting on Saturday.

“They have shown that they are unpredictable,” he said.