Police called to quell alleged disturbance at Warren City Hall

Police were called to Warren City Hall late Monday afternoon after several reports of a disturbance involving a small crowd of people who were not allowed to vote after polls closed, authorities said.

However, when officers arrived at City Hall, which is about 50 meters from the police station, they found no evidence of a disturbance and no arrests were made, a police spokesman said.

“Initial information was that 20 people were upset about a voting issue at City Hall,” Lt. John Gajewski said in a news release.

Gajewski said the incident occurred Monday around 4:20 p.m. when police received word of the incident. Officers arrived at City Hall within about four minutes and contacted City Clerk Sonja Buffa and her staff.

Buffa told officers there were no active disturbances at the time. Her staff said a female resident was angry because she was not allowed to vote after 4 p.m. because the polls close at that time.

Buffa’s staff told officers that the woman left the scene before officers arrived,” Gajewski said.

On Monday evening, Buffa sent an email to the Macomb Daily, urging the newspaper to file a Freedom of Information request to see the alleged disruption.

“There was one voter who was angry at 4:10 p.m. The voting ended at 4 p.m. After she left, we heard reports of 20 people causing a nuisance to police,” the clerk said in her email.

Meanwhile, Warren will be one of six communities that the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division will monitor on Election Day for any voting rights violations.

In addition to Warren, other Michigan cities to watch are Detroit, Hamtramck, Ann Arbor, Flint and Grand Rapids. All six communities voted heavily Democratic in the 2020 presidential election.

The Ministry of Justice announced on Friday that it would monitor a total of 86 places.

According to a statement, reports of disruptions at polling stations should first be reported to local election officials. Cases of violence, threats or voter intimidation should be reported to local police via 911 and then to the Department of Justice.

Reports to the Department of Justice can be made by calling toll-free at 800-253-3931 or by visiting civilrights.justice.gov.

Originally published: November 4, 2024 at 6:32 PM EST