Hundreds protest Mich. stay-at-home order
LANSING, Mich. — Hundreds of people frustrated over Michigan’s coronavirus stay-at-home order protested again outside the state Capitol on Thursday, standing in the rain to call for a loosening of restrictions and for business owners to reopen in defiance of Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
The Senate canceled its session so the Capitol could be closed Thursday. The step came weeks after some armed protesters entered the building during a rally.
The latest protest was led by Michigan United for Liberty, a conservative activist group that has sued Whitmer and organized or participated in several rallies since early April.
People in the crowd of roughly 200 held signs declaring “Every worker is essential,” “Make Michigan work again” and “Stop the tyranny.”
“We can get some businesses back open,” said David Saxton, a 40-year-old IT specialist from Alma, in central Michigan. He said he lost his job, is receiving unemployment benefits and noted that a COVID-19 vaccine may not be ready for a year and a half. “Staying shut down that long is not practical. You will kill the state. You just will.”
Though State Police and Michigan’s attorney general had warned of enforcing prohibitions on brandishing guns or ignoring potential directives to stay 6 feet apart, there were no arrests. Some protesters still stood closer together.
Some carried guns even though lawmakers from both parties criticized certain demonstrators for intimidating and threatening tactics two weeks ago. At that protest, they openly carried semi-automatic rifles into the Capitol, including the Senate gallery, sparking calls by Democrats to ban guns from the building.
Organizers on Thursday tried to keep the focus on reopening the state. A scuffle broke out when people speaking on the Capitol steps prevented a man from displaying an American flag that had an unclothed female doll with a noose around the neck. Several masked counter-protesters stood silently in support of the governor’s actions to keep the virus from spreading.
The Republican-led Legislature was not in session Thursday. A court will hear arguments Friday in GOP lawmakers’ lawsuit challenging the governor’s ability to extend an emergency declaration, the underpinning of her restrictions, without their blessing.
The governor’s stay-at-home order is effective until at least May 28.
“I don’t particularly want to see people congregating, period. We know that contributes to spread,” Whitmer said Wednesday. “But if people are going to come down and demonstrate, do it in a responsible way. That’s what we ask.”