Politics & Government
Trump Protesters Gather Outside Michigan Capitol Wednesday
Many of them expressed their displeasure with Wednesday's electoral vote certification hearing in Washington D.C.
LANSING, MI — Protesters supporting President Donald Trump on Wednesday gathered outside Michigan's Capitol as miles away in Washington D.C. a congressional hearing regarding the counting of electoral college votes ended early as lawmakers were evacuated from government buildings amid mass protests.
According to reports from Lansing news outlets, around 100 people gathered on the Capitol lawn in downtown Lansing, carrying signs and flags supporting Trump. Those crowds eventually grew to several hundred, but in a vastly different scene, protests in Lansing on Wednesday were peaceful, according to many reports.
"They've been very cooperative from our perspective, with no problems at all," Lt. Darren Green of the Michigan State Police told The Detroit Free Press. "They're just exercising their First and Second Amendment rights."
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Some protesters raised a large wooden cross on the Capitol lawn, according to some social media accounts of the scene.
They just put up a cross in front of the capitol building pic.twitter.com/0LrGQ5zj9e
— Anna Timmer (@VeritasSola) January 6, 2021
Craig Mauger of The Detroit News reported on social media that when news that Vice President Mike Pence would not interfere with electoral college votes for Democratic President-elect Joe Biden reached the protesters in Michigan, at least one person called Pence a "traitor."
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While Lansing was peaceful on Wednesday, many said events at Michigan's Capitol in early 2020 served as a stepping stone to what took place in Washington D.C. to begin 2021.
Where have we seen this before? Oh yeah, MI State Capitol. With armed militia trying to force their way into chamber, police stand down. Guess that was a live training exercise in preparation for this coup. Where are the rubber bullets, beatdowns arrests? Just for Black folx huh? https://t.co/4ZTQMwzxNd
— Black Lives Matter Michigan (@BLMMichigan) January 6, 2021
In the spring, protesters upset with state executive orders issued by Michigan's Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer marched on the state capitol armed with firearms. Since then, many Michigan legislators have been demanding a firearms ban on Capitol grounds.
Michigan Democratic Sen. Dayna Plehanki on Twitter tweeted at Sen. Majority Leader Mike Shirkey urging him to address a bill she had previously proposed banning guns at the Capitol.
"Let’s talk about my bill to ban all guns from the Michigan Capitol. This is our wake up call. The time is now. Please," she said in a tweet directed at Shirkey.
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