/Armed militia members, other protesters demand freedom from Michigan Gov. Whitmers stay-home order

Armed militia members, other protesters demand freedom from Michigan Gov. Whitmers stay-home order

Dozens of demonstrators took to the Michigan state Capitol in Lansing on Thursday for a rain-soaked protest — the third such event in the past month — demanding their “freedom” from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s stay-at-home mandates.

Whitmer has started to relax her orders in recent weeks and launched the reopening process in her state earlier this month. Michigan was one of the hardest hit states by COVID-19 and has seen case counts begin to subside recently.

Thursday’s protest was smaller than previous iterations that drew widespread national attention. One such protest took place late last month, when gun-toting militia protesters spilled inside the Capitol, confronted police and insisted on being allowed onto the House floor as lawmakers debated whether to extend Whitmer’s emergency powers.

The Republican-led state House and Senate were not in session Thursday and the Capitol was closed to the public.

There was increased police presence for the rally, however, and Michigan State Police said they stopped a fight during the event. Police said there were no injuries or arrests made as a result of the altercation, though one man was in possession of an ax that was turned over to law enforcement.

Several militia members were present at the rally, where a massive banner reading “FREEDOM” was spread at the entrance to the Capitol. Some demonstrators waved “Don’t Tread on Me” flags and wore President Donald Trump’s campaign gear. While there were some protesters wearing masks, most did not distance themselves from others.

The rally was organized by the conservative group Michigan United for Liberty — which has sued Whitmer and organized or participated in past demonstrations. As Michigan nonprofit publication Bridge reported, several of the group’s organizers are tied to the anti-vaccine and “medical freedom” movement.

Protesters hold signs during a rally against stay-at-home order at the State Capitol in Lansing, Mich., on May 14, 2020.Paul Sancya / AP

In an interview with NBC News last week, Whitmer said the protesters were not representative of her state and that the rallies have had a “definite political component” to them.

Whitmer, a first-term Democratic governor from a key swing state, has seen her profile rise amid the pandemic. Joe Biden, the apparent Democratic nominee, has named her as a potential running mate while Trump — who has both derided and praised her — has encouraged the anti-lockdown protests and called on Whitmer to “make a deal” with demonstrators.

Whitmer said she’s feeling “intense pressure to reopen, whether it’s coming from the White House or the people of our state, and that’s playing out all across the country.”

“We are Americans,” she said. “We are used to having our freedoms, and I think in this moment we’ve had to ask people to make sacrifice, and people are getting weary of it.”

A Washington Post-Ipsos poll published this week found that 72 percent of Michigan adults approve of Whitmer’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic as opposed to just 25 percent who disapprove.

Whitmer, like governors in neighboring states like Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, has seen her orders come under intense scrutiny by state and national Republican lawmakers. U.S. Rep. Paul Mitchell, R-Mich., and state GOP lawmakers have sued her over the orders. She told NBC News she believes her mandates are “always on the right side of the Constitution.”

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