‘Nerve Shaking,’ ‘Very Threatening’: Michigan Democrats Complain About Protesters Carrying Weapons In The State’s Capitol

Several Michigan Democrats have complained about protesters bringing firearms into the state’s capitol and one member threatened to file a workplace grievance unless Republicans agreed to bar firearms on the premises.

Democratic State House Minority Leader Christine Greig called guns in the capitol “threatening” and said the majority of her liberal colleagues agree with her in an interview with the Washington Post. Greig also threatened to file a workplace safety complaint with the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) if Republicans in the House choose not to ban firearms in the government building, the Post reported.

“It’s very threatening when you walk around your workplace and see people with assault rifles,” Greig told the Post. “Any other workplace would be addressing this, and it would be investigated and dealt with. But we are not afforded that as members of the House. It needs to change.”

“MIOSHA’s legislative declaration specifically states ‘that the safety, health, and general welfare of employees are primary public concerns,” Greig wrote in a letter addressed to the Republican Speaker of the House Lee Chatfield. “The Legislature hereby declares that all employees shall be provided safe and healthful work environments free of recognized hazards.’ MCL 408.1009. Surely, Mr. Speaker, you don’t believe that the Legislature intended our own workplace to be held to a laxer standard?

A spokesman for Chatfield responded to Greig’s workplace safety demand.

“We all know MIOSHA can’t trump the constitution,” the spokesman told the Post. “The House is doing important work this week to keep Michigan safe and help improve the state’s response to the pandemic. The Legislature won’t be distracted from that.”

Greig’s push for removing firearms on capitol premises comes after a total of 13 people were arrested in connection to the attempted kidnapping plot of Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, according to WXYZ. Militia groups from at least five states were found to have orchestrated the plot after criticism mounted against Whitmer for her coronavirus lockdown policies, the local outlet reported.

“It has been very nerve shaking, if you will,” Greig told the Post after being asked about the kidnapping plot. “I’m always on pins and needles, and always looking in the gallery to see who’s there.”

Armed men entered the Michigan capitol in connection with the “American Patriot Rally,” which protested Whitmer’s COVID-19 mandates in early May, according to BBC.