Lauren Gibbons
MLive.com, Walker, Mich.
LANSING, Mich. — Frustrations with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s COVID-19 stay-at-home order reached a fever pitch Wednesday as thousands flocked to Michigan’s capital city for a daylong rally that stretched from local roads to the Capitol steps.
The current stay-at-home order from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is in effect through April 30 and bans gatherings of any size outside a household, as well as in-person business and activities deemed non-essential. The measures are intended to limit the spread of the coronavirus, which has infected 28,059 people in Michigan and resulted in 1,921 deaths.
Whitmer and Chief Medical Executive Joneigh Khaldun have said the ongoing stay-at-home order is essential to prevent more deaths in Michigan.
Initially, the stay-at-home order didn’t get much pushback. But an extension of the order that included additional restrictions on business and individual activity was widely panned by Republican lawmakers and conservatives, who felt the order went too far and didn’t take into account businesses that could operate safely.
Protesters began circling the Capitol Wednesday morning, and the action didn’t cease until nearly 6 p.m. Traffic was backed up for miles. Participants were encouraged to stay in their cars, but a crowd began gathering on the Capitol lawn by 10 a.m., and many were not wearing masks or following social distancing guidelines recommended by the CDC.
The protest had a political edge - many who participated held signs and waved flags in support of President Donald Trump. One sign asked Trump to “lock up the Nazi woman in Michigan,” and at one point, a “Lock Her Up” chant started from the Capitol steps.
Some participants also displayed Confederate flags, which were widely criticized on social media.
The concept was initially proposed by Birmingham resident Anthony DiMaggio, who said he had no idea it would get so big.
The manufacturing jeweler and jewelry designer said he’s never been involved in planning a political protest before. But his business has been suffering under the order, and after he contacted state Rep. Matt Maddock about the idea, he was connected to the Michigan Conservative Coalition. The “Operation Gridlock” Facebook event they created snowballed from there.
DiMaggio said he thought a few hundred people might show up to drive around the Capitol building. In the end, police estimated somewhere between 3-4,000 people were in downtown Lansing at the protest’s peak, either in their cars or on the ground.
“It wasn’t me that did it, it was just the consciousness of Michigan people,” he said. “They desperately want to work, they want to control their own destiny, and this place just exploded with thousands and thousands more people than I ever thought.”
Critics said the event endangered lives and shouldn’t be construed as the opinion of all Michigan residents.
Lonnie Scott, executive director of Progress Michigan, said the protest showed “selfishness, a lack of empathy and disregard for human life.”
“Beyond the right to protest, which we all agree is important, we know many Michiganders were disappointed by the actions of a vocal few,” he said. “We know that Michigan is better than the lack of compassion we saw in Lansing today and in the coming days we will work with our partners on an effort to mobilize Michiganians to support our frontline workers.”
Whitmer said in a press briefing Wednesday she understood why people were protesting. But she expressed concern about the people who ignored social distancing guidelines while doing so.
“I was really disappointed to see people congregating and not wearing masks,” Whitmer said during a press conference Wednesday. “We know that this rally endangered people. This kind of activity will put more people at risk and sadly, it could prolong the amount of time that we have to be in this posture.”
Shelly Vanderwerff of Zeeland, one of the participants in the protest, is currently laid off from her job at a local greenhouse. She is also trained as a pet groomer, and carried a sign on the Capitol lawn asking for the ability to do curbside pet grooming during the stay-at-home order.
She said she felt it was important to show up in person because the governor is taking away jobs, hobbies and other means of activity that could be done safely and help people who are struggling with their mental health.
“It seems like she’s not listening to petitions and calls and emails, she’s not getting how many small businesses that this really is affecting and hurting,” she said.
Vanderwerff said she’s taking personal precautions to limit the spread of COVID-19, but is concerned that Michigan’s stay-at-home measures are too extreme.
House Speaker Lee Chatfield, R-Levering, was at the Capitol Wednesday and witnessed the proceedings, and later posted a video of himself waving a flag in support on Twitter. He’s been a vocal critic of Whitmer’s latest order, and said the protest was “a simple exercise of Constitutional rights”- although he encouraged people to do so while properly socially distancing.
“There is nothing more American than people coming together and petitioning their government and ensuring their voices are heard, and that’s what we’re seeing here today,” he said.
Throughout the day, downtown Lansing was a cacophony of car and truck horns, megaphones and occasional chanting.
Cars and trucks lined the streets surrounding Michigan’s Capitol building, displaying flags and painted messages like “Stop Oppressive Quarantining: Bring Back Common Sense” and “Freedom Isn’t Negotiable.” Some brought their motorboats, which the administration said are not allowed under the stay-at-home order. Others drove business vehicles.
State Rep. Sarah Anthony, D-Lansing, said in a statement she understood people were angry and scared, but said it was extremely irresponsible to orchestrate a traffic jam in the capital city.
“Maybe these protesters haven’t lost someone to COVID-19. Maybe they haven’t had to figure out how to bury a loved one while selecting only 10 family members to attend the memorial service,” she said. “Maybe they don’t know a doctor, nurse, corrections officer, long-term care worker or first responder putting their lives at risk every day during this global pandemic.”
“This decision put lives in jeopardy by blocking emergency vehicles, impedes the ability of essential state workers to perform critical responsibilities and risks further transmission of COVID-19 throughout our state,” she continued.
Michigan State Police estimated somewhere between 3,000-4,000 people involved in the protest with traffic backed up for miles in all directions leading away from the Capitol.
“If their goal was to create gridlock, they succeeded in that,” said Michigan State Police First Lt. Darren Green.
Public safety officials and local hospitals said there were some anecdotes of slow traffic delaying ambulances, but said for the most part, operations proceeded as usual.
John Foren, a spokesperson for Sparrow Hospital, said the entrances and exits to the facility’s downtown location were not blocked and said security was on the premises for the duration of the protest.
Lansing Fire Department Assistant Chief of Operations Michael Tobin said the biggest impact on their department was the temporary relocation of vehicles out of downtown headquarters to other parts of the city.
The Capital Area Transportation Authority, which provides public transit to the Lansing area, temporarily stopped its services in the downtown region in light of the protest. On its website, CATA stated its vehicles were “unable to accommodate life-sustaining and medically necessary trips to or from these areas.”
———
©2020 MLive.com, Walker, Mich.