In retaliation against protesters who have rallied against the state’s overreaching stay-at-home order, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer is considering extending Michigan’s stay-at-home order.
On April 15, the Michigan Conservative Coalition commenced “Operation Gridlock” to protest Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s stay-at-home orders in the state. Thousands of protesters appeared outside of the Capitol to create a bumper-to-bumper traffic jam, Fox 2 Detroit reported.
And though some protesters did exit their vehicles, media accounts from the event observed that most protesters remained in their vehicles and practiced social distancing.
Still, in an interview with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, Whitmer claimed the protests were “irresponsible” and threatened to impose further restrictions on residents to curb the unknown health effects of the protest. “We might have to actually think about extending stay-at-home orders, which is supposedly what they were protesting,” Whitmer said.
Whitmer also claimed the protest was prompted by support for President Donald Trump, even as the protest organizers declared the protest to be bipartisan, with Democrats, Republicans, and Independents in attendance.
“When you see a, you know, a political rally — that’s what it was yesterday — a political rally like that, where people aren’t wearing masks, and they’re in close quarters, and they’re touching one another, you know that that’s precisely what makes this kind of a disease drag out and expose more people,” Whitmer said.
For protesters, however, the rally was not about politics, but about personal freedoms and a state government that has created confusion and chaos in its overzealous efforts to address the pandemic.
“Quarantine is when you restrict movement of sick people. Tyranny is when you restrict the movement of healthy people,” Michigan Conservative Coalition organizer Meshawn Maddock told Fox News. “Every person has learned a harsh lesson about social distancing. We don’t need a nanny state to tell people how to be careful.”
The protest was even supported by infamous “Never Trumper” Justin Amash, the now-Independent Michigan Representative who dumped the GOP and voted to impeach the president.
“Several recent measures provide marginal benefits at best while substantially heightening frustration and resentment,” Amash said. “Sensible instructions to practice social distancing, wear masks, and stay at home already do most of the work to reduce the virus’s spread. By pushing too far, the governor undermines her own authority and increases the likelihood people will not follow reasonable guidelines.”
“Operation Gridlock” was prompted by Governor Whitmer’s April 9 executive order, which extended the state’s stay-at-home order until April 30 and, as observed by the Daily Wire, went “far beyond those in place in neighboring states.”
“State residents can’t travel to their Up North cottages, but Illinois residents who own one in Michigan apparently can,” the Detroit Free Press opined. The order also restricts travel between two residences, but allows individuals to return to a home or place of residence from outside the state. It also allows residents from inside the state to leave the state for a home or residence elsewhere. Critics contend the order contains too many double standards.
Also under Whitmer’s expanded order, residents cannot purchase items deemed non-essential from local stores, including paint or gardening tools — items that, for some, are invaluable recreational tools to help pass the time while they are forced to stay home. The order requires stores to “cordon off” aisles deemed non-essential, many of which pertain to household projects that many had hoped to undertake during the stay-at-home orders. Meanwhile, critics begrudge the order’s continued allowance of Michigan Lottery sale purchases. The Detroit Free Press scathingly reports, “In-store purchases of Michigan Lottery tickets are still permitted but buying a can of paint or a bag of seeds is off limits.”
Protests have been staged across the country in places such as Kentucky, North Carolina, Missouri, Utah, Ohio, and Virginia. On Sunday alone, protests in opposition to statewide lockdowns took place in nine states, including California, Washington, Florida, and Texas — among the states with the highest number of coronavirus cases — according to Newsweek. To date, “Operation Gridlock” has been the largest demonstration against stay-at-home orders, though that could change as protests continue to be planned in cities across the country.
More protests are scheduled to take place in Michigan, as long as the state remains under stay-at-home orders. The Facebook Group Michigan United for Liberty is planning another demonstration at the Capitol on April 30, when the state’s stay-at-home order is set to expire. Governor Whitmer contends the next 10 days will ultimately determine her next steps.
“I will be working with a team of experts to determine what next steps look like, but what happens depends on how these next 10 days go,” she said. “To those of you who want to get back to work as soon as possible, stay home. To those of you who want to make plans for June, July and August and want to see them through, stay home.”
