What Michigan experienced in 2020 was a prelude to the Capitol Hill insurrection.
On Jan.6, in response to an NBC Correspondent’s report of a Michigan contingent at the Capitol Hill Insurrection, I tweeted, “Nobody who covered or worked in Lansing last spring, summer, and fall should be surprised by this at all.” These are my reflections. Book One. April 2020. Twice in April — exactly 15 days apart — we witnessed emotionally charged rallies (ostensibly protesting COVID-19 restrictions) at the state Capitol in Lansing. They were less like protests or simply petitions of grievance to the government and more like pro-Trump conventions. The second became violent as hundreds stormed the Capitol while the House and Senate were in session. Images from the April 30 siege — of heavily armed men hovering over lawmakers in the Senate gallery, others hollering at Capitol law enforcement for access to the House floor while banging on its doors — were broadcast worldwide. At some point, the tumult subsided, but not without palpably changing the atmosphere of our workplace. Book Two. The saga continues. Throughout the summer, comparatively calmer events by the same and affiliated groups occurred both on the Capitol steps and at other locations across Michigan. As the election drew nearer, it, along with pandemic protocols, would become the commingled focus of their ire and negative energy. In October, six months after the Lansing Capitol siege, we all learned that some of its participants had more treacherous intentions. The federal government foiled a plot to kidnap the governor and storm the state Capitol.
