On this day in 1871, fires broke out across Michigan, devastating areas from Holland to Manistee and the Thumb region, claiming over 50 lives. In 2020, the FBI shocked the nation by announcing the arrest of militia members plotting to kidnap Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer. As US Attorney Matthew Schneider stated, "Disagreements should never amount to violence."
TRANSCRIPT
Today in 1871, the same day as the Great Chicago Fire began, Michigan also had a spate of fires. From Holland to Manistee, Lansing, and a forty-square-mile area of land in the Michigan thumb from Saginaw Bay to Lake Huron went up in flames taking hundreds of homes and claiming over 50 lives.
Also today in 2020, the FBI shocked the nation as they announced members of a militia group were being charged with crafting plans to kidnap Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer from her vacation home. As US Attorney of the Eastern District, Matthew Schneider said as the charges were announced “All of us in Michigan can disagree about politics, but those disagreements should never ever amount to violence.”