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Man arrested at council meeting [UPDATED]
Published 11:12am Wednesday, September 7, 2011 Updated 11:21am Wednesday, September 7, 2011A disgruntled Fergus Falls resident was arrested outside of the city council chambers Tuesday for violating a restraining order after he compared city council leadership to the currently deposed dictator of Libya.
Ron Melius, who has caused a stir at council meetings in the past, showed up shortly before the 5:30 p.m. meeting with a briefcase and several pamphlets in hand, with the intention of addressing the council during the meeting. After a few quiet discussions with some other people in attendance at the meeting, Melius picked up his things and turned to leave.
However, before he left the room, Melius shouted, “Gadhafi needs to go, and there’s two of them!”
Melius, who has a restraining order against him by one of the city leaders, was followed out by Police Chief Kile Bergren. He was then arrested outside and taken to jail.
Moammar Gadhafi is the former dictator of Libya who recently lost power of his country in an uprising.
Melius has had complaints against the city in the past, notably some incidents in spring of 2008 when Melius claimed at city meetings that the city had unfairly passed over Dahlstrom Carpet Outlet, a business his wife owns, for a flooring job.
Tags: city council, other crime
Melius, who has a restraining order against him by one of the city leaders? what is this about?
Who wrote ths? Staff writter is nothing more than an excuse for not being accountable as a writer? What happened to free speech? Or, what happened to reporting? If that was all he said, it seems to me free speech should protect him as that is his opinion. Which council member has the restraining order, what was it about, and how can he voice his concerns if he is not allowed to attend what is supposed to be open for all citizens? Can someone please fill in all the blanks for us?