LEWISTON — An Auburn man’s outburst during a City Council meeting Tuesday led Mayor Larry Gilbert to briefly suspend the meeting, turn off the man’s microphone and leave his seat.

“You are out of order and now, we are in recess,” Gilbert told Laurier P. Morrissette of Auburn.

Morrissette is a regular at Auburn City Council meetings, using the public comment periods to espouse his views on national and local politics and morality. He frequently ends his presentations with the benediction: “To my children, to your children, to all the women of the world, to all the men of the world, to our God, to the Christ, I love you.”

In Auburn, Morrissette is usually given 5 minutes to speak. But public comment rules are different in Lewiston. Gilbert, noting that several people wanted to speak during the public comment period, asked Morrissette to limit his remarks to 2 minutes.

Morrissette said he would not and that Gilbert did not have the right to limit his speech. He began his presentation, but was cut off by Gilbert at the 2-minute mark. He became increasingly agitated, refused to leave the lectern and began shouting.

“The open session is meant for people to talk about Lewiston business, and what he was talking about had nothing to do with Lewiston,” Gilbert said. “He was getting angrier and angrier, so I really had no choice.”

Morrissette gathered his things and followed Gilbert and the councilors out of the chambers, arguing for his right to speak the entire time. City Clerk Kathy Montejo called the police, and Morrissette left. He was gone before police arrived.

City Administrator Ed Barrett said the city would not file charges of disturbing the peace against Morrissette but would consider some sort of response for future council meetings.

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