In June, Democratic leaders Donna Lasinski and Jim Ananich called for the creation of a bipartisan committee to uncover Michigan’s insurrection contributions
LANSING — Six months ago today, insurrectionists spurred on by the Big Lie descended on our nation’s capital, successfully breaching the U.S. Capitol building in a violent display that killed five and injured 140 officers in Washington DC on January 6th.
While Democratic Leaders Donna Lasinki and Jim Ananich encourage bipartisan legislative action to investigate Michigan’s impact on the insurrection, the calls for accountability to ensure this country never sees such violence again have been lacking from Republican legislators and leaders in the state. Many actively provided logistical support for those who stormed the Capitol, participated in the insurrection themselves, or looked the other way on the brutality that unfolded.
MIGOP co-chair Meshawn Maddock and her husband Rep. Maddock organized busloads of people to attend the protests in DC that devolved into the violent storming of the Capitol.
Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey invited multiple militia groups to his office to discuss their strategy days after their “dress rehearsal” storming of the Michigan Capitol in April 2020, then referred to the insurrection as a “hoax from day one” that was “all staged.”
Ryan Kelley — who is featured prominently in several “images showing him deep in the fray of rioters” — is running for governor of Michigan. Last week, MDP called attention to new footage that appears to include audio of Kelley while he advanced on the U.S. Capitol shouting “Come on, let’s go! This is it! This is– this is war, baby!” as he moves along with a crowd of rioters towards the building.
And last week, a man named Trevor Brown — who is reportedly “facing several federal charges” stemming from his actions on January 6th — became the 11th Michigander insurrectionist to be indicted, showing that the need for a bipartisan investigative committee remains ever present and ongoing.
MDP Chair Lavora Barnes released the following statement:
“Why any lawmaker in Michigan wouldn’t want to uncover how exactly to avoid this violence in the future is beyond me. Though the insurrection was months ago, federal prosecutors are still progressing through an extensive effort to learn how the day unfolded, indicting more and more rioters by the day. Given how many of those insurrectionists call Michigan home — including Ryan Kelley who sees no irony running within a democratic process he apparently doesn’t think is legitimate — state legislators should feel obligated and duty-bound to join House Democratic Leader Donna Lasinski and Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich in creating a bipartisan committee to investigate and uncover the full extent of Michigan-based contributions to one of our nation’s darkest days.”
