Democratic state lawmakers called again Tuesday for a bipartisan commission to examine the involvement of Michiganders in the January 6th attack on the US Capitol. The event was timed to coincide with the six-month anniversary of the insurrection.
Eleven Michigan residents face federal charges related to the US Capitol attack.
“What’s critical when we reflect on the insurrection on our Capitol just six months ago is that we need to understand is how eight months before we had a dress rehearsal here at our capitol in Michigan,” said Representative Donna Lasinski, the House Democratic leader.
She was referring to the April 2020 demonstration against COVID-19 restrictions, when hundreds of protestors, many armed, forced their way into the Michigan Capitol demanding an end to the stay-at-home order.
The Democrats want a commission evenly divided between the House and the Senate and evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats to examine links between Michiganders and the DC insurrection, as well as an alleged plot to kidnap and murder Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
“What we need to do is have is a truly bipartisan space where people who care about truth can talk about truth, can find and make clear what did happen, what didn’t happen, but most important, make sure that this can never happen again,” said Senator Adam Hollier, a Democrat from Detroit.
Spokespersons for the House and Senate Republican leadership did not respond to requests for comment.