Hundreds of angry - and armed - citizens stormed the Michigan capitol building Thursday in protest of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s orders surrounding the COVID-19 shutdown – orders that have forced the closure of many businesses, restricted the sale of certain items, curbed outdoor activities like gardening, and even banned people from traveling to their own vacation homes.
Video footage shows protesters with the Michigan United for Liberty-organized “American Patriot Rally,” some of them wearing American flags and carrying guns, swarming the building and attempting to access the state House floor as armed guards barred the entrance. Other officers were stationed at the entrance to the building taking protesters’ temperatures before allowing them to enter.
Many Michigan residents, along with those in states that have enacted similar liberty-restricting measures, have expressed more than a little disgust with their governor’s mandates, saying they’re too restrictive and pointing out that some – like banning people from traveling from their home to their own vacation property – don’t do anything to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
The state’s Republican-controlled legislature on Thursday night decided against extending the state's emergency declaration over the coronavirus, voting instead to sue Whitmer over her executive actions and strip her of her authority to issue such edicts.
Whitmer responded by issuing a new order extending the state of emergency for another 28 days.