Council member pleads no contest to handcuffing Trump critic

EASTPOINTE, Mich. (AP) — A Detroit-area city council member accused of handcuffing a woman who placed Black Lives Matter stickers on 2020 pro-Trump campaign signs pleaded no contest to disturbing the peace.

Eddie Kabacinski was placed on probation for a year during the Monday hearing, but the case could be dismissed if he stays out of trouble, the Detroit Free Press reported Tuesday.

A judge will review it in six months, attorney Stephen Rabaut said.

“Mr. Kabacinski isn’t happy about the resolution, did not want to enter a plea, but at the advice of counsel elected to enter the plea because he saw it was probably in his best interest,” Rabaut said.

Kabacinski, a member of the Warren City Council, handcuffed a woman who placed BLM stickers on signs promoting then-President Donald Trump during a political rally in Eastpointe in October 2020, according to police.

He was initially charged with assault and impersonating a police officer. Kabacinski claimed he had the power to detain people as a former military police officer.