(Source: MIRS.news, Published 08/15/22) Shelby Township Clerk Stan Grot accused well-known election fraud proponent Mellissa Carone of defamation in connection with social-media posts she made about him.
In a lawsuit filed Thursday in Macomb County Circuit Court, Grot accuses Carone of falsely stating in a February post that he had been "taking money for 'bribes' … to drop out" of the Secretary of State race in 2018 and that he pocketed 90% of "an illegal immigrant's lottery ticket."
Carone also called Grot a "political sell-out," "traitor," "compulsive liar" and "fraudulent" man on public social media websites and accused him of running elections "using illegal procedures."
A message to Carone, who was disqualified during the primary from seeking the 11th District state Senate seat, was not returned.
Grot asks the court to order Carone to publish a retraction, and he seeks more than $25,000 in damages.
According to a February post, Carone levels 13 claims against Grot and his wife, Sylvia Grot, whom she calls a "mail-ordered bride with absolutely no education."
In a second February post, Carone accused Stan Grot of "desperately trying to gain power" through his wife's candidacy.
Carone also references Stan Grot's agreement with GOP Chair Ron Weiser in which Grot was promised "a $230,000 bribe" for dropping out of the 2018 Secretary of State race. Grot, who has denied the claim, received $200,000 – the same amount the party chair paid to the state in exchange for the Bureau of Elections dropping any further investigation into the matter.
And Carone repeats her claims that the 2020 presidential election was "stolen from us" and asks for a forensic audit, according to a screenshot of the social media post.
In May, Bloomfield Hills attorney Michael Balian wrote a letter to Carone on Stan Grot's behalf, demanding that she "retract all statements published on Facebook and other social media websites" about his client, who "considers these statements to be libelous in nature."
Balian said Carone refused.
Carone is no wallflower when it comes to publicity. She made headlines in December 2020 when she appeared alongside former New York Mayor Rudy Guiliani at a state House Oversight Committee hearing on election-fraud claims. Her appearance resulted in national late-night hosts and a Saturday Night Live sketch mocking her.
Since then, Carone tried to run for state office, but she was removed from the ballot because she indicated she did not owe campaign finance fines when she did. In July, Carone and former GOP gubernatorial candidate Donna Brandenburg announced they would seek the U.S. Taxpayers Party's lieutenant governor and gubernatorial nomination, respectively.
Grot also filed a separate suit against Darlene Doetzel, an activist who helped organize an election-fraud protest in February. The nature of that suit wasn't immediately available Monday.
