Members of Facebook Groups Discuss Assassinating Gretchen Whitmer
Gretchen Whitmer’s state of Michigan has not only been hit hard by COVID-19, it has also been hit hard by protests. Photos from one of these protests, where supporters carried assault weapons and screamed at police officers, went viral online.

There is another rally planned in Lansing, Michigan on Thursday, where demonstrators will plead with the Governor to open up the state. And police will be on heavy alert. There are a number of private Facebook groups where users have discussed violence against Whitmer.
Four of these private groups have been outed by The Detroit Metro Times.
The Facebook pages revealed feature comments like, “We need a good old fashioned lynch mob to storm the Capitol, drag her tyrannical ass out onto the street and string her up as our forefathers would have.”
Another user wrote, “Either President Trump sends in the troops or there is going to be a midnight lynching in Lansing soon.”
And another group member suggested, “We could’ve taken over the capital last time if we wanted. This was just a display. Next time won’t be!”
In a private Facebook page called “The People of Michigan vs Gov. Gretchen Whitmer” a gun extremist wrote, "Hopefully the police decide that fucking with pissed off armed men is a bad idea." #mileg https://t.co/DNIiNnSOyR
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) May 11, 2020
At least one of the groups in question, Michigan Unite for Liberty, has been removed by Facebook. The website said in a statement, “We removed one group for violating our policies and will remove any other violations as we continue our review.”
The state of Michigan has considered an weapons ban for the capitol. Whitmer, herself, remarked after the last demonstration, “There are legislators who are wearing bulletproof vests to go to work. No one should be intimidated by someone who’s bringing in an assault rifle into their workplace.”
You can read more of the threats against Whitmer below:
Ahead of an armed rally planned for the Capitol building in Lansing, Michigan, this coming Thursday, groups are promoting violence against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Facebook, in violation of the social media company’s policies. #mileg
https://t.co/KxoIWS0wzT pic.twitter.com/XG20HOBiFO
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) May 11, 2020