Michigan United for Liberty, a group against Michigan’s “lockdown,” recently led a protest at Michigan’s state capitol. Hundreds of people showed up, many of them armed, to demand that Michigan be opened up for business. The group has participated in several protests since April.
Michigan’s Democrat governor, Gretchen Whitmer, imposed a lockdown on the state and has “doubled down,” extending it to May 28.
Now Hillary Clinton, failed presidential candidate, but still a VIP in the Democrat party, weighed in on the controversy, signaling Whitmer to begin to use terms like “domestic terrorism” when talking about the protests.
Armed men storming a legislature to disrupt its democratic proceedings is domestic terrorism. It cannot be tolerated.https://t.co/NcCFgA5COE
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) May 15, 2020
Fact Check
Here is the legal definition of domestic terrorism according to The Patriot Act.
SEC. 802. DEFINITION OF DOMESTIC TERRORISM. (a) Domestic Terrorism Defined.–Section 2331 of title 18, United States Code, is amended– (1) in paragraph (1)(B)(iii), by striking “by assassination or kidnapping” and inserting “by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping”; (2) in paragraph (3), by striking “and”; (3) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; and”; and (4) by adding at the end the following: “(5) the term `domestic terrorism’ means activities that– “(A) involve acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State; “(B) appear to be intended– “(i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population; “(ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or “(iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and “(C) occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States.”
Whew. For those still awake after that, there is a point. The term “domestic terrorism” is a lever for Whitmer and other wanna-be tyrants to get the federal government involved in crushing dissent.
Listen for the media, Democrats, and Whitmer to start using that term. There are legal consequences for domestic terrorism. If Whitmer can successfully attach that label to Michigan United for Liberty, even in the minds of a few, that would trigger federal interference in the protests in Michigan.
But so far, it is not illegal in Michigan to open carry firearms, no matter how much Democrat politicians want it to be. So the Michigan protests do not fall under the definition in the Patriot Act because no criminal act has been done in order to intimidate or influence the policy of conduct of the government.
Protests in New York
Some people in New York are also protesting lockdowns. One reporter, trying to get a story at a protest, was not made to feel very welcome. He describes the group that organized the protest as far-right and supportive of President Trump. Perhaps that is why the protesters told him that fake news was not “essential” and that he should go away.
I’ll probably never forget what happened today.
I was insulted. I was berated. I was practically chased by people who refused to wear masks in the middle of a pandemic.
All the while, I was there to tell THEIR story. Here’s the finished product. pic.twitter.com/HV2Hrcs7gi— Kevin Vesey (@KevinVesey) May 14, 2020
The protests in many states goes to show how frustrated and desperate many Americans are feeling as they lose their livelihoods, their way of life, and their hope that things will go back to “normal.”
Please sound off in the comments and let us know what your experience has been. Have you lost your job? Has anyone you know had the coronavirus? Are you tired of the lockdowns?