LANSING, Mich. – Enough senators have cast “not guilty” votes Saturday to acquit Donald Trump of inciting the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
READ: The Latest: Donald Trump acquitted in second impeachment
The storming of Michigan’s Capitol in April 2020 was brought up by impeachment managers multiple times as an example of what led the deadly insurrection Jan. 6, 2021.
Protest moves inside Michigan Capitol. Crowd attempts to get onto Hoise floor. Lots of Michigan State Police and House sergeants at arms blocking door. pic.twitter.com/4FNQpimP4W
— Rod Meloni (@RodMeloni) April 30, 2020
“The Michigan State House was effectively a state-level dress rehearsal for the seizure of the U.S. Capitol,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin.
House managers also pointed to the hot-tempered feud between the former president and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
“Following the armed siege in Lansing, President Trump refused to condemn the attacks on the Michigan Capitol or denounce the violent law breakers,” Raskin said.
Livonia Sen. Dayna Polehanki’s photo of armed men in the Michigan State Senate Gallery is now official record of American history.
“I certainly didn’t think that that photo -- which commemorates that day -- would be used by the House impeachment managers in the second impeachment of Donald Trump, but it doesn’t escape me it’s historic,” Polehanki said.
She said she wasn’t surprised to see photos of Michigan during the impeachment.
“I think that it’s likely that the storming of the Michigan Capitol on April 30 was a dress rehearsal of sorts for what took place at the U.S. Capitol on January 6,” Polehanki said. “And I think the people who took care of the Capitol in in D.C. saw that in Michigan. It happened with impunity.”
Polehanki has also called for a full ban on firearms at the State Capitol after a ban on open carry was put in place in January. So far, GOP lawmakers have indicated banning open carry is as far as they are willing to go.
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