Massive Protest in Michigan as Citizens Advocate for their First Amendment Rights After Governor Imposes New Coronavirus Restrictions

Michigan’s governor faces severe backlash after introducing aggressive and nonsensical new stay-at-home order guidelines.

The Great Lakes State has become one of the epicenters of the coronavirus pandemic, and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer wanted to do something about it by introducing new restrictions aimed at limiting transmission. But many citizens believe that she took it too far. Here are some of the new restrictions Michigan residents must live by or face charges.

In addition to banning families from retreating to their own vacation home within the state, she also prohibited “all public and private gatherings of any number of people occurring among persons not part of a single household.”

Gov. Whitmer also placed limits on stores that sell goods like carpets, flooring, furniture, garden centers and paint. If a store has those sections in addition to others, like big box stores or even grocery stores, it is required to “cordon them off, placing signs in aisles, posting prominent signs, removing goods from shelves, or other appropriate means.” Stores can also only have 4 customers per every 1,000 feet. She prohibited the advertisement of any goods that “are not groceries, medical supplies, or items that are necessary to maintain the safety, sanitation, and basic operation of residences.”

Violating any of these terms is considered “a willful violation of this order” and those who do so would be charged with a misdemeanor.

People across the state made the decision to demonstrate against what they considered government overreach. Called “Operation Gridlock,” named to reflect the governor’s “gridlock” of the economy, thousands of Michigan residents protested by using their cars to clog up the roads around the State Capitol in Lansing. To make things safe, most of the protestors stayed in their cars, though some did get out, and they honked their horns and waved American flags and pro-America and pro-freedom banners.

“There’s no reason why right now today she couldn’t come out and say, ‘Michigan, I hear you, and it’s time to get workers back to working,’” Meshawn Maddock, the leader of the Michigan Conservative Coalition, said to Breitbart News on a Facebook Live video.

Another protestor, who only gave the name Eric, said, “It’s not about being safe—we want to be safe—but I don’t think that we need the Constitution suspended in order to be safe. It’s a personal responsibility regardless. My point is that we don’t need it imposed upon us. The American people are smart enough to be able to make these decisions themselves.”

Even one local police department stated that their enforcement of the law will be minimal. In an official press release, posted on Facebook, the department stated, “As Sheriffs of Michigan’s 101st House district, comprised of Leelanau, Benzie, Manistee, and Mason Counties, we write today to inform the public of our respective counties of our opposition to some of Governor Whitmer’s executive orders. While we understand her desire to protect the public, we question some restrictions that she has imposed as overstepping her executive authority. She has created a vague framework of emergency laws that only confuse Michigan citizens.”

In a video uploaded on Wednesday, Governor Whitmer shared her “disappointment” that people were congregating and that some were not wearing masks. “We know this rally will endanger people, and will put more people at risk and could prolong how long we need to be in this posture,” she said.

It’s clear that these various federal and state shutdowns are wearing thin on many. More people are questioning how far is too far when it comes to protecting the health and lives of the American public.

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez