By Simon Albaugh – Yemeni American News
HAMTRAMCK, Mich. – The growing criticism over 31st District Court Judge Alexis Krot’s comments has continued, with an online petition advocating for her removal reaching more than 200,000 signatures.
The controversy centers around a video published by the Facebook page of the Hamtramck Public Video Library, which is not affiliated with the Hamtramck Public Library. The video shows an exchange over Zoom, with Judge Alexis Krot shaming an elderly cancer patient during a blight case.
On Jan. 10, Judge Krot was overseeing a blight case against Burhan Chowdhury. After Chowdhury explained that he was very weak and a cancer patient – while audibly struggling to breath through the exchange – the judge shamed Chowdhury for not keeping up his property.
“You should be ashamed of yourself,” Krot is heard saying. “If I could give you jail time, I would. The fine is $100, pay it by February 1st. You better get that cleaned up. That is totally inappropriate.”
A petition, which was created a week ago, has reached 225,795 signatures as of Jan. 20. Created by Anjum Uddin, the petition is directed to Representative Abraham Aiyash, Governor Gretchen Whitmer and other elected officials. It also links a fundraising campaign for Burhan Chowdhury.
“As seen in the linked video, Mr. Chowdhury was out of breath and apologized as well as said since then he had help and cleaned the alleyway,” reads the description for the petition. “The Judge, Alexis G. Krot, shamed him, spoke over him, and told him he could not use cancer as an excuse. She has a history of being bigoted to immigrants. We’re calling for action from the city of Hamtramck to remove Alexis Krot as judge!”
Judge Alexis Krot was first voted to Judge of the 31st District Court in 2018. Winning against challenger John Gormiak, Krot won over 2,500 more votes than Gormiak. She ran unopposed in 2020, still getting votes from 34% of all Hamtramck’s voters.
31st District Court is a busy one, with legal battles, violent crimes and a slew of traffic ticket programs already under the court’s supervision. Neither the 31st District Court nor Judge Alexis Krot responded to a request for comment in time for publication.
Since the video was first posted to Facebook, hundreds of articles have been written, 227,300 people have signed the petition, and outcry has continued to pour through.
