LANSING — A personal protection order bars a local advocate for the homeless from being in contact with 1st Ward City Council Member Jody Washington.

Washington petitioned for order against Martin Mashon in August, citing threatening comments that Mashon posted to social media.

Mashon, a longtime critic of city government, leads an organization called Punks with Lunch that hands out bagged lunches, bus tokens and clothes to people who are homeless.

Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Janelle Lawless granted the order, which remains in effect until Feb. 12, 2020.

"Go ahead and defend your friend, she's going to be getting hers," Martin wrote, according to Washington's petition for the order. "Tell that Jody b— she's got a lot that's going to be thrown at her plate after the primary. She wants to start a war with a bunch of punks, she'll get a war that's very public."

The order prohibits Mashon from contacting Washington or approaching her in any public or private setting, including her home or workplace.

City spokeswoman Valerie Marchand said Mashon may still enter City Hall for a specific purpose, such as paying taxes or appearing in court. Mashon may attend City Council meetings if he follows council's rules of order, Marchand said.

Mashon accused Washington on social media of "spewing hate," and sending "her goons out to intimidate a church," according to Washington's petition.

In the request, Washington, who represents northeast Lansing, characterized Mashon's accusations against her as delusional. She described him as "very angry," and possibly unstable, adding that she feared he might come to her home.

"I am a council member and he hates city government," Washington wrote in her petition. "I'm used to a lot as a city official, but this is different."

Mashon did not respond to a request for comment. The Lansing State Journal was not able to find the social media comments referenced by Washington, which may have been deleted.

"Look, I did not file a personal protection order to have this become a media circus," Washington said in a conversation with the Lansing State Journal.“I have no intention of denigrating Martin Mashon."

She declined to comment further, adding, "Shame on anyone that thought it was newsworthy."

Mashon, a self-described anarchist, has clashed repeatedly with Lansing's administration.

Protesters called on prosecutors to drop charges earlier this year after Lansing Police arrested Mashon and his girlfriend, Julia Miller, during the polar vortex.

Mashon and Miller had been handing out bus tokens to homeless people gathered inside the downtown Capital Area Transportation Authority bus station on one of the coldest nights of the year. Police said the pair refused to leave the station after an officer told them they could only remain at the station if they were waiting for a bus.

A jury cleared Mashon and Miller of trespassing charges, but found Mashon guilty of resisting arrest.

More recently, Punks with Lunch has criticized a city policy that requires nonprofits to pay fees and insurance costs in order to feed the homeless.

And, this summer, the group attracted media attention after it bought picnic tables and padlocked them to trees in Reutter Park downtown. Initially, the city allowed the tables to stay put, but officials later told the group they would need to remove the furniture for in coming weeks.

City officials said illicit activity, including drug use, had been occurring near the tables.

"We remove tables that need maintenance at the end of the season from all parks throughout the city," Marchand, a Lansing spokeswoman, said in September. "We also remove tables at the request of neighborhood groups or Lansing Police Department because of issues and/or illegal activity taking place because of the tables."

Advocates with Punks with Lunch felt the city was removing the tables because the furniture had become a gathering place for homeless people.

Read more:

Jury says homeless advocate guilty of resisting arrest but not trespassing at CATA station

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Contact reporter Sarah Lehr at (517) 377-1056 or slehr@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahGLehr.

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