Michigan state police say claims that Governor Gretchen Whitmer was trapped inside the Capitol by protesters protesting his stay-at-home order are false.
About 400 to 700 people descended on the State Capitol today, according to the Michigan State Police.
The Capitol was open to the public today, but due to social distancing rules in place, only 275 people were allowed inside at a time, with certain sections of the building closed, according to Lt. Brian Oleksyk.
Oleksyk said it was a very peaceful protest, "they sang peacefully and that was it."
State police made an arrest, which took place outside the Capitol, where one protester assaulted another, said Oleksyk.
All the demonstrators dispersed at 5 p.m., as did most of the police who were there to help the crowd.
The House and the Senate were in session on Thursday, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Michigan Senator Dayna Polehanki tweeted this afternoon saying that the protesters were directly above her, "men with guns yelling at us."
"Some of my colleagues who have bulletproof vests wear them. I have never enjoyed our Sergeants-at-Arms so much, "Polehanki tweeted.
Michigan's minority leader Jim Ananich said while encouraging "people to disagree with their government," that did not happen today.
Watch: Source link"This demonstration was not about staying at home, it was an opportunity for a small group of people - very few of them engaged in social distancing or wearing masks - to show their posters to swastika, their Confederate flags, their bows hanging from cars and placards calling for murder. Threatening the Capitol police, staff, press and elected officials is not our way of doing business here in Michigan ", a Ananich said in a statement. "We support a vigorous debate and we support the first and second amendments. We will not tolerate physical intimidation or chaos in the midst of a global pandemic."
