Members of a citizens’ coalition rallied at the state Capitol Thursday. The event came a few hours after news broke of the foiled alleged kidnapping plot against Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
The rally was organized by Stand Up Michigan.
The group’s self-proclaimed mission is to “reclaim and defend the rights and liberties” of citizens.
Many in the crowd carried pro-Trump signs and a few carried firearms.
One of the speakers was Republican House Speaker Lee Chatfield, who called the alleged plot against Governor Whitmer “unacceptable and un-American.”
“The way we change our community, the way we change our country is by voting…not by threats like that,” Chatfield said. “I hope they’re prosecuted, and I’m outraged and I think any Michigander or American should be too.”
Speaking on behalf of the Michigan Pastors Alliance, Chatfield’s father, Rev. Stanley Chatfield, called for Christianity to become “the dominant force in our country again.”
McKenzie Dickens is a Black man from Lansing. He heard about the alleged plot and came to support Gov. Whitmer. Dickens carried a sign that read “BLM” (Black Lives Matter).
“Knowing that I’m counterprotesting what they’re believing, I feel a little scared or vulnerable knowing that I’m unprotected and I’m amidst these people who are armed with very dangerous weapons,” Dickens says.
Rep. Chatfield says conversations between lawmakers and the Michigan Capitol Commission about a proposed firearms ban at the Capitol are ongoing.