HAPPENING: ARMED MILITIA INVADES MICHIGAN CAPITOL BUILDING - THREAD #3

dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8275171/Hundreds-demonstrators-protest-Michigans-stay-home-orders.html

Lawmakers were seen wearing bulletproof vests as armed protesters stormed Michigan's Capitol in Lansing just moments before the state's House of Representatives denied Gov Gretchen Whitmer's request to extend her state of emergency.

Photos from inside the Michigan House Chamber showed elected officials wearing bulletproof vests while men holding guns stood above them.

'Directly above me, men with rifles yelling at us. Some of my colleagues who own bullet proof vests are wearing them. I have never appreciated our Sergeants-at-Arms more than today,' Sen Dayna Polehanki tweeted Thursday afternoon.

In Michigan, guns are permitted inside the state's Capitol as long as they are visible and carried with lawful intent.

Protesters, who weren't wearing masks, were seen yelling within inches of officers from the Michigan State Police.

Others were heard chanting: 'Let us in! Let us in!'

The 'American Patriot Rally' which was organized by Michigan United for Liberty, drew in hundreds of residents who carried pro-Trump banners and held anti-Whitmer signs while protesting outside of the Capitol.

Demonstrators began descending on the Capitol at 9am Thursday morning while lawmakers were trying to decide whether to extend Whitmer's state of emergency request for 28 more days.

Ultimately, the lawmakers denied the governor's request and passed a resolution authorizing the Speaker of the House to commence legal action, which will challenge the governor's actions during the pandemic. Whitmer is unable to veto the resolution.

Attached: 1.jpg (956x752, 158.4K)

Many of those gathered for the protest included militia group members carrying firearms and people holding up pro-Trump signs.

Most of them appeared to be ignoring state social-distancing guidelines as they clustered together within six feet of each other. Few people wore masks.

Michigan's directive, while stricter than most, has the same goal: to keep Americans safe from the coronavirus.

In the United States, more than 1 million people have been infected with the virus. The death toll increases each day and as of Thursday afternoon it surpassed 62,000. In Michigan, more than 3,600 people have died from the virus and more than 40,000 people have contracted the illness.

But nonetheless protests to open governments have erupted across the United States, with Thursday's rally occurring just a day after a Michigan judge sided with Whitmer in a lawsuit filed by plaintiffs who claimed her stay-at-home order violated their constitutional rights.

Court of Claims Judge Christopher M. Murray disagreed, saying that the plaintiffs' were not strong due to the severity of the pandemic.

Attached: 3.jpg (952x634, 106.86K)

Das right!

Attached: black_jews.jpg (960x640, 168.11K)

Murray wrote in the court order: 'Although the Court is painfully aware of the difficulties of living under the restrictions of these executive orders, those difficulties are temporary, while to those who contract the virus and cannot recover (and to their family members and friends), it is all too permanent.'

During Thursday's protest, Mike Detmer, a Republican US congressional candidate running for the state's 8th district spot held by Democrat Elissa Slotkin, told the crowd: 'Governor Whitmer, and our state legislature, it's over with. Open this state.

'Let's get businesses back open again. Let's make sure there are jobs to go back to.'

Other speakers at the rally questioned the deadliness of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus.

They also said Whitmer's stay-at-home order violated constitutional rights, and urged people to open their businesses on May 1 in disregard of her order.

Thursday's rally began around 9am under steady rainfall with some protesters chanting 'USA' and 'lock her up,' referring to Whitmer, but alluding to a refrain often chanted at 2016 Trump rallies directed at Hillary Clinton.

State authorities have warned that protesters could be ticketed for violating social-distancing rules.

The mayor of Lansing, Andy Schor, said in a statement on Wednesday that he was 'disappointed' protesters would put themselves and others at risk, but recognized that Whitmer's order still allowed people to 'exercise their First Amendment right to freedom of speech'.

Whitmer has acknowledged that her order was the strictest in the country.

Protesters, many from more rural, Trump-leaning parts of Michigan, have argued it has crippled the economy statewide even as the majority of deaths from the virus are centered on the southeastern Detroit metro area.

Attached: 4.jpg (956x724, 169.97K)

Any livestreams?

Organizers of a mid-April protest in Michigan took credit when Whitmer recently rolled back some of the most controversial elements of her order, such as bans on people traveling to their other properties.

Whitmer's stay-at-home order is set to continue through May 15, though she has said she could loosen restrictions as health experts determine new cases of COVID-19 are being successfully controlled.

On Wednesday, she said the construction industry could get back to work starting May 7.

Thursday's protest appeared to be the largest in the state since April 15, when supporters and allies of President Donald Trump organized thousands of people for 'Operation Gridlock,' jamming the streets of Lansing with their cars to call out what they said was the overreach of Whitmer's strict stay-at-home order.

That was one of the country's first major anti-lockdown rallies, and helped sparked a wave of similar events nationwide.

The slow reopening of state economies around the country has taken on political overtones, as Republican politicians and individuals affiliated with Trump's re-election promoted protests in electoral battleground states, such as Michigan.

Many states, including Georgia, Oklahoma, Alaska, South Carolina and Ohio, have already moved to restart parts of their economies following weeks of mandatory lockdowns that have thrown nearly one in six American workers out of their jobs.

Public health authorities warn that increasing human interactions now without appropriate safety measures may spark a fresh surge of infections.

Regardless of the warning, people have taken to the streets to demonstrate against lockdown orders.

Earlier this week, hundreds of lockdown rebels attended the 'Reopen North Carolina' rally on despite the group's leader, Audrey Whitlock, testing positive for the coronavirus.

Attached: 5.jpg (958x638, 190.32K)

Were they there too?

This says it all. Nothing is going to happen.

Attached: 1588293091009.jpg (206x355, 22.84K)

The group, which has been campaigning for government officials to reopen the state and relax coronavirus restrictions, were seen gathered outside the North Carolina Legislative Building in Raleigh.

Many waved American flags while others held signs that read: 'Set our people free.'

Hardly any of the protesters were wearing masks or other protective gear as they clearly violated the social distancing order to remain six feet apart.

The demonstrators called on Gov Roy Cooper to ease the stay-at-home orders for the state where there are more than 9,900 confirmed cases and 354 deaths.

ReOpen NC is promising to hold rallies in Raleigh every Tuesday until the governor’s restrictions are lifted. His stay-at-home order has been extended until May 8.

Attached: 6.jpg (952x636, 121.07K)

Good one burgers, Godspeed.