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By Allison Scarbrough, News Editor
Four men claiming to be “First Amendment auditors” have been making their rounds locally to bait police, government officials and business people to act unprofessionally and post unflattering videos of them on YouTube.
The men, two of whom appear to be middle aged and the other two appear to be in their 20s, are filming videos from windows of buildings, and in some cases, they are filming inside the building.
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Oceana County Sheriff Craig Mast said the group made a stop at the Oceana County Courthouse earlier this week. “I talked to them for a while, and they are really crude, vulgar and rude,” he said. “They were creeping around the courthouse.” The men were shooting video through the windows of work stations inside the courthouse, he said. “This worried the employees. We have sensitive information in the courthouse, such as jury questionnaires.”
They have visited the towns of Hart, Shelby, Ludington, Baldwin, Montague and Whitehall, he said.
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They posted a video harassing Shelby State Bank employees at the Shelby branch. When employees asked their names, they refused to give their names. When asked why they were filming, one of them answered, “I tour towns for people who can’t necessarily do it themselves.” While filming, they make many disparaging remarks about the people and the businesses.
In the Shelby video, they all march into the Shelby Township office with their cameras and walk down the hallway.
“They’re difficult to legally stop,” said Mast. “The best remedy is not to confront them.” If they film outside your window, pull the shade down.
“They’re splitting hairs with constitutional rights,” said the sheriff. “They’re on the edge of being caustic — trying to rile people up. They know where they can push the limit. This is very disturbing to people.”
The group appears to be baiting people into acting unprofessionally, particularly those who have taken an oath to uphold the constitution, such as police officers.
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