Rep. Gina Johnsen issued a press release requesting additional taxpayer money for public safety while having already been privately informed that her constituent Lois’s neighbor was violating an enforceable local ordinance. She took no enforcement action, publicly misrepresented Wagner’s conduct as lawful, privately warned Lois not to speak to the Attorney General, and accepted endorsements and campaign funds from gun rights organizations throughout. Accountability before appropriations.
Michigan State House Representative Gina Johnsen recently dropped a press release about her new budget requests. She claims she’s fighting for more taxpayer money to boost public safety and fix local roads and bridges.
Sounds great in theory.
But here’s what Gina won’t say: when given the chance to protect one of her own constituents from an actual, ongoing threat, she did nothing.
Lois Laroe’s Story: An Explosive Truth
If you’ve been following Clutch Justice, you know Lois’s nightmare. Her neighbor, Casey Wagner, a Michigan DOC employee, has spent months detonating cannon-sized blasts outside her rural Ionia County home. Lois has PTSD. She’s lost her hearing. She’s called the police, the township, and yes, her own State officials, Gina Johnsen and Rick Outman.
The Township’s attorney made it crystal clear: the explosions violate local ordinances. Officials could enforce the law, seize the equipment, and protect Lois’s right to live in peace. Instead? They did nothing.
And Rep. Gina Johnsen, who wants more tax dollars to keep families safe, didn’t fight for Lois. She made false promises of replacing windows or finding a buyer for her home. But here’s the thing: Lois lived there for 20 years without issue before Casey moved in.
Also worth noting: one of Gina’s campaign donors, Melanie Dart, is a senior officer at Dart Bank, the same bank where Casey’s parents’ campaign finance funds reside, and which also holds the mortgage on the property where the detonations occur.
Gina downplayed the danger, falsely and knowingly claiming Casey wasn’t breaking any laws. Then she told Lois to stay quiet, warning her that speaking out might hurt gun rights or upset the gun rights organizations she received multiple endorsements from.
Public Safety Is More Than a Talking Point
This is the part they don’t put in the press release.
It’s easy to demand more money for public safety when you can pose for photos next to big checks and potholes. But real public safety means standing up to people who break the law, even if they’re your neighbor, even if it’s inconvenient, even if it costs you votes.
What good is a bigger budget when local officials won’t protect the people they already swore to serve?
Johnsen was informed in writing through the Township’s own legal counsel that the conduct was violating an enforceable ordinance. She publicly misrepresented Wagner’s conduct as lawful. She privately suppressed Lois’s attempts to seek redress from other officials. She accepted endorsements and funds from gun rights organizations throughout this period. She then issued a press release requesting public money to address public safety.
Accountability Before Appropriations
Lois never asked for millions. She didn’t ask for special treatment. She asked for basic accountability: to be able to sleep without fear of a bomb going off in her yard.
So before Gina Johnsen asks for another dime from taxpayers, she owes Lois and all of Ionia County something first: make sure the laws you already have are enforced for everyone.
No more excuses. No more intimidation. No more looking the other way while people like Casey Wagner get a free pass.
They all knew. They chose to do nothing.
