Trump-Endorsed GOP Michigan Candidate Suggests MAGA Bring Guns To The Polls ... For Freedom!

This is all heading in a bad direction.

This weekend, at a Republican Party event, an unidentified person promoted the conspiracy theory thatwannabe fascistsRepublican “observers” had been forced out the room where all the fraud was happening. It was even suggested that the police “manhandled” people. In reality, election officials had permitted the maximum number of people in the room and restricted access to additional “observers” because of COVID-19 restrictions. (The great thing about this pandemic hoax was how it enabled so much voter fraud.)

Michigan state Senate candidate Mike Detmer didn’t correct this person’s unhinged rant. Instead, Detmer asked, “Are you armed?” It’s usually a good move to ask if the crazy person has a gun, but this wasn’t a precautionary measure. Detmer was prepping for the next insurrection. Republican Ryan Kelley, who’s running for governor, had previously suggested that if “you see something you don’t like happening with the machines ... unplug it from the wall,” which doesn’t sound legal, but if these assholes are armed, the law’s somewhat academic.

COUP PRIMER: Angry Republicans Tell Michigan Senate They Saw Something Nasty In The Vote Shed 

This really happened, y’all. Here’s the video. 

Unauthorized personnel tampering w/ election devices & the use of firearms to intimidate voters is illegal. Engaging in such conduct will result in arrest & prosecution. Will @MIGOP condemn the encouragement of felonious acts by its candidates for office? Or is this cool now?https: //twitter.com/leftofcentermi/status/1487897023609196544 …

— Dana Nessel (@Dana Nessel) 1643578353 

Detmer claimed the Second Amendment doesn’t exist solely for hunting rights or to defend yourself by proactively shooting someone. He said, “The Second Amendment is there, the founders put it there to protect all the others.” (I should note that the Second Amendment was ratified in 1791, and Alexander Hamilton was shot to death in a dumb-ass duel in 1804. The damn amendment went just 13 years before it helped kill one of the founders.)

DETMER: The right to bear arms tells the government the citizenry is armed ... The ideal thing is to do this peacefully. That's ideal. But the American people, at some point in time, if we can't change the tide, which I believe we can, we need to be prepared to lock and load. You asked what can we do. Show up armed.

Detmer, whom Donald Trump has endorsed, is advocating for random people to show up armed at polling places. This is Jim Crow KKK-style voter intimidation. He’s also blithely recommending that citizens threaten and potentially kill elections workers and the police officers who defend them. He is not well.

 The Detroit News reports that “the statement drew vocal opposition from Democrats,” which greatly misses the point. It’s not a partisan issue. Yes, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is a Democrat, but when she reminds Detmer and Kelley that "unauthorized personnel tampering with election devices and the use of firearms to intimidate voters is illegal,” she’s operating as the state’s top law enforcement official. It’s not like she tweeted: “Today’s a good day for Joe Biden to cancel all student loan debt.”

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson quickly responded, as well:  "Voter intimidation and tampering with election machines is illegal. Any attempt to illegally interfere with our elections or threaten the safety of our election officials will be immediately referred to @MIAttyGen who will prosecute violations to the fullest extent of the law."

Detmer remained defiant, tweeting: "Apparently@dananessel and the Libs are upset with me! Hey Dana ... MOLAN LABE!” "Molan labe” roughly translates to “come and take them” but Nessel never said Michiganders can’t own guns. They just can’t use them to commit crimes. Detmer also directly replied to Nessel’s message with this quote from Thomas Jefferson:  "What country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance. Let them take arms."

I know it’s a little uppity of me to disagree with someone who owned Black people, but what Jefferson’s describing is more akin to a reign of terror than a democracy. Mafia dons must remain vigilant because their own people might turn on them. Call me old-fashioned, but I prefer a non-mobbed-up society where we have elections and a rule of law.

[ Detroit News ]

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