“…The Republicans’ actions in Washington and Lansing show that these people are very mainstream in today’s party.” — Former MIGOP executive director Jeff Timmer
LANSING — GOP gubernatorial candidate and extremist Ryan Kelley continues to make headlines for his participation in the insurrection on our nation’s capital. A new report from Bridge Michigan sheds more light on how Kelley’s actions on January 6th contributed to the violence that killed five and injured 140 officers in Washington DC.
According to footage captured during the insurrection, Kelley — who also organized countless demonstrations against public health protocols in Michigan — scaled scaffolding on the Capitol grounds, moved police barricades, and resisted Capitol police’s riot control efforts to keep the mob he was immersed in from breaching the building.
Insurrectionists like Kelley seeking statewide office is further proof that the “grassroots, anti-lockdown wing of the GOP” is having a huge impact. As a reminder, MIGOP co-chair Meshawn Maddock, along with her husband Rep. Matt Maddock, organized busloads of people to attend the Jan 6th protests in DC that resulted in the violent storming of the U.S. Capitol. Rather than being treated like the “seditious criminals and traitors that they are,” these extremists are proudly lining up to tout their participation as commitment to the Big Lie.
Former MIGOP Executive Director Jeff Timmer sounded the alarm on his party’s embrace of right-wing extremism: “It’s dangerous to dismiss these people as fringe or extremists, because the Republicans’ actions in Washington and Lansing show that these people are very mainstream in today’s party, and they should be taken seriously.”
The Michigan Democratic Party released the following statement on behalf of Chair Lavora Barnes:
“It shouldn’t be a partisan issue to say we shouldn’t make political leaders out of those who attempted to overthrow our government. Ryan Kelley’s participation in the violent insurrection of January 6th displays not only a severe lack of the leadership necessary to guide Michigan forward, but shows the drastic lengths Republicans are willing to go to show loyalty to the Big Lie. We already know where his fellow co-chair Meshawn Maddock stands on this, but if Ron Weiser is at all interested in getting a handle on his party and correcting its current collision course with full blown extremism, he would condemn Kelley’s actions in no unclear terms and say insurrectionists have no business seeking statewide office.”
