Armed Rebels Seize Michigan Statehouse
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Armed demonstrators storm Michigan State House over stay-at-home order
By Ebony Bowden
April 30, 2020 | 4:46pm
Hundreds of angry demonstrators, some of them armed with rifles, stormed Michigan’s State House on Thursday to protest stay-at-home orders — terrifying lawmakers who wore bulletproof vests to protect themselves.
The protesters forced their way into the Capitol in Lansing to urge Michigan officials to end a state of emergency as the Wolverine State continues to battle one of the worst COVID-19 outbreaks in the country.
Thursday’s event reached a terrifying climax when Capitol police were forced to protect lawmakers as protesters tried to storm their way into the chamber, the Detroit Free Press reported.
In one frightening scene, several men armed with rifles made their way into the public gallery and began shouting at senators on the floor beneath them, according to an account by one lawmaker.
“Directly above me, men with rifles yelling at us,” Michigan State Sen. Dayna Polehanki wrote on Twitter, sharing a photo of the demonstrators.
“Some of my colleagues who own bullet proof vests are wearing them. I have never appreciated our Sergeants-at-Arms more than today.”
In another video posted online, protesters, most of them not wearing masks, started chanting to be let into the chamber, yelling, “This is the people’s house, you cannot lock us up.”
Michigan has been rocked by protests and unrest for weeks after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency and imposed a restrictive shutdown on the state’s economy.
Facing a wave of criticism and armed protests outside her home, Whitmer eased restrictions to allow some people to return to work as many feared the stay-home order would ruin small businesses.
A state of emergency remains in place until the middle of May but many state Republican lawmakers are mounting efforts to restrict Whitmer’s power.
herman
herman
Navy
Let's get one thing straight: when you show up with guns of any sort, never mind military-style weapons and paramilitary combat dress, to intimidate legislators and public officials with the threat of violence, you're not Americans engaging in peaceful "protest" as guaranteed by the First Amendment -- "the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances"
You're armed rebels engaging in armed insurrection. You're attempting to overthrow democracy, the rule of law, and the Constitutional order.
herman
Lobo
Lobo
On Thursday, April 30, 2020 at 9:11:26 PM UTC-4, Navy wrote:
Navy
herman
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ImStillMags Mags
herman
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Lobo
On Thursday, April 30, 2020 at 9:51:00 PM UTC-4, Navy wrote:
Navy
Navy
Lobo
On Thursday, April 30, 2020 at 10:05:59 PM UTC-4, herman wrote:
herman
I-think4me
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Do you dare not follow the orders of that police officer with a gun? If I walk into a bank with a gun and demand the teller give me all her money am I peacefully robbing the bank?
herman
On Thursday, April 30, 2020 at 10:26:12 PM UTC-4, Navy wrote:
herman
Troll hunter
Troll hunter
Lobo
On Thursday, April 30, 2020 at 10:26:12 PM UTC-4, Navy wrote:
herman
Susiejoe
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herman
Libtards hate America
herman
Lobo
On Thursday, April 30, 2020 at 10:55:50 PM UTC-4, Susiejoe wrote:
Libtards hate America
A concept foreign to libtards.
Troll hunter
Troll hunter
herman
On Thursday, April 30, 2020 at 10:26:12 PM UTC-4, Navy wrote:
Libtards hate America
herman
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(Jonathan Oosting | MLive.com)
Joe Droelle of Redford at a Second Amendment rally at the Michigan Capitol on Oct. 9, 2013.
LANSING, MI -- Second Amendment advocates exercised their legal right to carry pistols and rifles into the Michigan Capitol on Wednesday, but they had to leave their signs -- and some might argue, their First Amendment rights -- at the door.
Michigan Capitol Committee rules prohibit hand-carried and hand-stick signs in the 135-year-old building due to concerns that they could accidentally scratch the decorative paint or be dropped from upper floors onto unsuspecting tourists on the rotunda floor below.
Michigan State Police who work at the building regularly enforce the sign rule, but there is no rule or law preventing gun owners from carrying their weapons into the Capitol.
"It's always been on the books -- even before the last constitutional convention -- the right to open carry in Michigan," said Sgt. Jeffrey Held of the Michigan State Police. "Nobody's ever changed it."
Capitol facilities manager Steve Benkovsky, who is in charge of maintaining the historic structure, acknowledged it seems "bizarre" that the some of the same activists allowed in the building with guns are required to drop their signs before entering.
If he had his way, long rifles wouldn't be allowed in either.
"We just worry about damaging the walls, because on the decorative paint, a sign turning the wrong way or even a rifle can gouge the thing," Benkovsky said. "Until one of the legislators comes up and says let's make this a weapon-free zone, or they put in some stipulation like you can't bring long rifles in here but you can wear sidearms, I've got to live with it. It's not a fun thing though. It's tough."
The gun owners at the Capitol on Wednesday where preaching a different message. They were visiting their local lawmakers and asking them to support several bills, including one measure that would remove restrictions on where you can carry a concealed weapon in Michigan, including schools, churches and other "gun-free" zones.
Republican Gov. Rick Snyder vetoed a similar bill last year in the wake of a fatal school shooting in Connecticut, but activists hope that lawmakers will advance the proposal again this session.
"There's going to always be crazy people out there that aren't going to follow the law," said Joe Droelle of Redford. "So regardless of what laws you change to make it tougher on the law abiding citizens, the crazy people are still going to do crazy things. There's no getting around that."
Droelle, who wore a rifle strapped across the front of his chest, acknowledged that he received an odd look or two when he walked through the Capitol. But he noted that he passed a group of school kids on a building tour without incident.
Capitol facilities staff call schools who have scheduled field trips when they know that open-carry advocates are going to be on the premises, giving teachers the option to reschedule or the ability to prepare their students so they are not frightened.
State Police also station additional troopers inside and outside the building.
"The only problems we get are from people who aren't expecting to see them at the Capitol when they come to visit," said Held. "And so that's where the tension has been in the past. People not knowing the law and seeing that on a school trip. We kind of like to have a couple extra guys around for a calming effect, in that regard."
Many of the activists gathered at the Capitol this week had attended a larger rally at the building in March and already knew they'd be allowed to bring their guns -- but not their signs -- inside. Others were surprised by the rule.
Ari Adler, a spokesperson for House Republicans, said the long-running sign prohibition was inspired by past incidents -- such as individuals taping signs to the walls or swinging them around and injuring others.
State Police have made exceptions to the sign rule, allowing individuals to wear them around their neck or secured to their body.
"You can open carry in the Capitol, but you can't brandish," Adler pointed out, explaining that gun owners cannot draw their weapons inside. "You can have it slung over your shoulder or on your hip. So in comparison, yeah, it's actually less dangerous to have a gun in the Capitol than a sign. You brandish a sign, but you can't brandish a gun."
Jonathan Oosting is a Capitol reporter for MLive Media Group. Email him, find him on Google+ or follow him on Twitter.
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