Black lawmakers warned of extremism and white supremacism at the Capitol for months. Leaders didn't
The news that members of the Boogaloo Bois and a self-described militia group had plans to kidnap and kill Gov. Gretchen Whitmer over her COVID-19 emergency actions shook Michiganders in the last weeks.
But for months, several lawmakers, particularly African Americans, have been sounding the alarm and calling on Republicans who run the Legislature to ramp up security, ban guns at the Capitol and denounce far-right extremism and white supremacism.
Little has changed. A letter from Democrats asking for Republican leaders to denounce symbols of hate at protests has gone without a response. Floor speeches from Black lawmakers about the impact of COVID-19 on communities of color were described as “shrill” by a Republican colleague. A state panel has yet to bar firearms from the building for months following heavily armed demonstrations. And those are just a few examples.
During a rally in Muskegon on Saturday, President Donald Trump told the crowd “you got to get your governor to open up your state. And get your schools open. The schools have to be open.”
https://www.michiganadvance.com/2020/10/20/black-lawmakers-warned-of-extremism-and-white-supremacism-at-the-capitol-for-months-leaders-didnt-take-action/