(WXYZ) — "What happened in Michigan 8 months ago looks a lot like what played out in Washington D.C. yesterday,” said Governor Gretchen Whitmer on Thursday.
As hundreds if not thousands of Trump supporters stormed the United States Capitol on Wednesday, disrupting the certification of Joe Biden’s electoral college victory, the Governor felt this moment had been building for months.
“We’ve seen this culminate in a kidnapping murder plot against me, death threats against officials like Dr. Fauci to the Republican Secretary of State in Georgia," Whitmer said. "It's just sad that we have a White House who continues to encourage this.”
Moments before the riot, President Trump addressed the crowd on stage, encouraging a march to the Capitol, where many Republican lawmakers were contesting the results of the election. Governor Whitmer believes they too bear some responsibility.
“These senators, these congresspeople that were intent on disenfranchising states, I think should be held accountable," Whitmer said. "I think our democracy demands that and we all should insist on that.”
Seeing the crowd roaming inside the capitol building, Governor Whitmer compared it to a similar scene inside Michigan’s capitol earlier this year. She again called for a ban of firearms on state capitol grounds, and for more security in Lansing.
“That is in fact a real threat," she said of the Capitol being stormed. "We saw it play out yesterday in DC so I do think the Capitol commission should take additional steps to keep our capitol safe.”
Like many lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have done, Whitmer called for unity and for the transfer of power to happen peacefully once again.
“Our democracy is stronger than the coup attempt that happened yesterday," Whitmer said. "But it’s always tenuous and we always have to remember that and fight the preserve it.”
