A large protest is expected in Lansing Thursday morning to protest extending Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s executive order. Thousands are expected in what is being branded as the “American Patriot Rally on Capitol Lawn,” where a number of demonstrators are expected to gather and protest extending Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s executive order for another 28 days. Ryan Kelley is one of the rally’s organizers.
“This is not a Republican Rally, a Democrat Rally or a Trump Rally, or a candidate rally,” Kelley said. "We are really rallying around people getting back to work, opening up Michigan, and having a government here representing us that is not making the solution worse than the problem.”
The protest starts at 9am, and according to an event page on Facebook, demonstrators are encouraged to “park as close as possible and walk to the capital building,” where speakers will address the crowd. However, people are not encouraged to wear masks, gloves or exercise social distancing. Critics of the rally, including Governor Whitmer, say the protest is putting lives potentially at risk.
Here is the response:
“People need to make their own decisions on how to live their life,” Kelley said. “People need to read the laws, and make their own decisions on how to live their life.”
On Monday, Facebook had deleted the rally’s event page for organizing an event that ignores the government’s stay at home order. On Tuesday, a second event page had been created and subsequently removed by Facebook. By Wednesday, a third had been posted.
Facebook issued this statement when I reached out to them for comment:
"We (at Facebook) are focused on removing content that advocates for in-person gatherings that defy government health guidance as well as other claims that are designed to discourage treatment or taking appropriate precautions."
