UPDATE 11/8/24 2:00 p.m.
LUDINGTON — The Sheriff’s Office identified the subject arrested on Election Day as Muzette Phippen-Oconnell, 52, of Ludington.
She has been arraigned on charges of Assault, Resist & Oppose an Officer and Election Law Violations related to recording at a polling site.
Bond was set a $5,000/cash surety 10%. She has been released on bond from the Mason County Jail.
11/6/24 3:40 p.m.
LUDINGTON — On Tuesday at 12:48 p.m., deputies were called to the Hamlin Township Hall regarding a reported assault that involved the allegation of the Hamlin Township Clerk being shoved.
Deputies learned from interviewing those involved that a 52 year-old Hamlin Township female entered the Hamlin Township Hall to vote. The woman reportedly was wearing a political candidate’s hat, they said.
Michigan is one of 21 states that have laws about wearing political apparel in polling places.
When asked to remove the hat, the woman became irate, refusing to take the hat off and started recording people at the polling location, deputies said.
At one point, the township clerk was shoved backward into another township employee, deputies said.
The woman then left the building but returned while deputies were on scene, they said. During the arrest, the suspect refused to comply while being handcuffed, and struggled with deputies, they said.
The woman remains lodged in the Mason County Jail awaiting arraignment.