‘They Can’t Touch Me’: Michigan Judge Caught on Recording Admitting She’s a ‘Racist,’ Says If Black People Want to be Treated Equally, They Need to ‘Step Up’
Additional recordings have been released of a Michigan judge who made national headlines last month for her incendiary and racist rhetoric against Black people.
Judge Kathleen Ryan was removed from the docket in August, WXYZ reported, after a court official who worked alongside her in the Oakland County Probate Court shared audio recordings in which she is heard launching into multiple homophobic and racist rants, dubbing herself a “new racist,” and calling Black Americans “lazy pieces of s–t.”
This week’s newly released recordings obtained by the station reveal even more of Ryan’s racially charged sentiments as well as her beliefs that her judgeship and her connections to powerful people in the county and state protect her from disciplinary action.
“I hate to say it, knock on wood. I really kind of am untouchable. … They can’t touch me. … They can’t touch my salary. They can’t touch my job. All they can do is have somebody run against me. Good luck!” Ryan is heard saying in one recording.
In another recording, Ryan allegedly said, “…with this whole Black Lives Matter stuff, you know they’re like … everyone’s all entitled and s–t … Let’s assume they did get screwed just because of the nature of your color, and the way America is, systemic racism, all that s–t! Fine. But don’t they have an obligation to step up to the plate too? I mean think about it, all they have to do is look at their history, like the whole like baby mamas, and the dads taking off, it’s like, you guys have an obligation too. You want us to treat you equally – you got to f—ing step up and do the same job! You know, you don’t get to be a lazy ass.”
Attorney Edward Hutton, the official who released the recordings, taped the judge for years on several hours-long work calls when she would share her inflammatory viewpoints with him.
According to Hutton, Ryan has bragged more than once about the circle of judges she’s affiliated with who have supported her in the past.
“I’m pretty untouchable. So you guys really want to be d—s. … You got 22 judges who are pu–ies. Guess what: They’re still going to back me,” Ryan is heard saying in one recording.
Ryan, the Oakland County Chief Probate Pro Tem Judge, has been on the bench for more than 13 years.
Hutton submitted a complaint to Oakland County Chief Probate Judge Linda Hallmark in May, but little action was taken, so he sent the recordings to the Michigan Supreme Court and the Oakland County executive.
“I’ve never met anybody that enjoys hurting people and brags about it the way [Ryan] does — or intimidating people, or scaring people,” Hutton told WXYZ.
Ryan has been suspended from the bench without pay as the Judicial Tenure Commission investigates her alleged conduct. Commission officials have been interviewing employees at the Oakland Probate Court to learn more about her behavior.
Ryan’s attorneys have released no new statements since news originally broke about the recordings.
“We respect the authority of the Michigan Supreme Court. However, we look forward to vindicating Judge Ryan in the appropriate forum,” Ryan’s attorneys previously told WXYZ.