Governor Gretchen Whitmer asked Republicans and Democrats to equally condemn “domestic terrorism” when she appeared alongside Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson at MSNBC on Sunday night.
The trio of Democratic officials spoke with anchor Alicia Menendez of the left-wing “American Voices” network about Michigan’s extremist threats last year, including the April State Capitol invasion and Whitmer’s kidnapping attempt in October.
Michigan “has lived with this” extremism “longer than the rest of the country,” Whitmer told Menendez, adding that President Donald Trump’s rhetoric “has stirred up people.”
“This whole year has been so partisan and destructive,” she said. “Partisanship around the issue of wearing a mask has cost people lives. When the president tweets something like ‘Liberate Michigan’, or an attack on our attorney general, or on our secretary of state or me, it incites people. It legitimizes actions to hurt us. This is not acceptable and should never have been considered acceptable. “
Trump tweeted “Liberate Michigan” in April in protest at Whitmer’s executive orders that limited public meetings by shutting down a large percentage of companies. It reopened almost all businesses in the following months, although restaurants are not yet allowed to serve customers indoors until at least February 1st.
Even after armed protesters invaded the state capitol in April, Whitmer accused Republican lawmakers, except Trump, of not doing “a damn thing” to contain the rhetoric.
“Now, maybe it was directed at them, they will,” she said. “This is a time when I would love to see the goodwill on both sides of the corridor – in the private sector as well – taking that into account. Domestic terrorism is not acceptable. None of us should pamper you, incite you, encourage you, or legitimize you. “
Some of the examples of rhetoric that Whitmer and the Democrats cited included challenges to Biden’s victory in the November elections and opposition to his orders from COVID-19.
Michigan Republicans, such as Grand Rapids Rep. Peter Meijer, St. Joseph Fred Upton and former Rep. Paul Mitchell, all publicly condemned the contestation of election results, with the previous two also voting for Trump’s impeachment this week.
Related: US Capitol Attack, Trump’s impeachment vote was ‘the worst week of my life’, says Congressman Peter Meijer
However, many Democrats cited the protest appearances of COVID-19 by Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clark Lake and former House Speaker, Deputy Lee Chatfield, R-Levering, as evidence that leaders Republicans allowed the extreme opposition to escalate.
In addition, experts told MLive last week that politicians ignited people who already feel the system is against them.
Related: Politicians who lied about electoral fraud have given extremists something to fight for, experts say
In the wake of the attack on the United States Capitol, the police of the state of Michigan and Lansing strongly increased their presence in downtown Lansing, in anticipation of the armed demonstrations carried out by right-wing groups.
An FBI bulletin warned that anti-government militant groups were organizing demonstrations in capitals across the country on January 17, leading to the deployment of the Michigan National Guard to protect state buildings that preceded President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on January 20.
Related: Strong police presence on Michigan Capitol before potential protests and threats
No more than a few dozen armed “boogaloo boys” appeared outside the Capitol building on Sunday, dispersing with few incidents.
Benson, who dealt with armed protesters intimidating his family outside the home in December, said he feels safe now due to increased security measures, although he warned that surveillance is always necessary.
“I feel very safe and I know my colleagues,” said Benson. “But it’s about being vigilant, and it’s about staying focused on the subject that hateful words and rhetoric that we’ve heard for months on social media and elsewhere have really transformed the possibility of hateful actions.”
A new security measure enacted by the Michigan Legislature last week was a ban on open firearms in the Capitol building, which Nessel said was not sufficient to prevent threats to lawmakers.
“All we really need to do is implement the same procedures that we have had in place for decades in all Michigan courts, which is simply having metal detectors and having police or security guards who are ensuring that people do not bring weapons fire or explosive devices of any kind, ”she said. “We do that when we go to see the Detroit Lions game. I don’t know why we can’t have the same security procedures in place for visitors who want to visit our Capitol. “
The Michigan legislature will not meet next week due to “credible threats” of violence.
During Biden’s inauguration and possibly a few days after that, the MSP and the National Guard will remain deployed to help Lansing police protect the Capitol.
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