AMERICA DIVIDED

National Guard members were sent in to support Michigan State Police and Lansing Police in anticipation for armed protests at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing, Michigan on January 17, 2021. A gathering of a few dozen armed and unarmed protestors attended, some fervent Trump supporters, others not, culminating in a speech by members of the Boogaloo Bois standing alongside BLM protestors calling for unity and stating, “If you (government) continue to oppress the American people, they will remain rational no longer.”

On January 6, 2021 at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing, Michigan, a few hundred Trump supporters, some armed, gathered to protest the certification of electoral votes by the United State Congress as Washington D.C. fell into chaos with Trump supporters storming the U.S. Capitol Building.

Trump supporters showed up to protest the voting results at the TCF Center in Detroit, Michigan on November 6th, 2020 where absentee ballots were counted for the city. A small counter protest formed beyond a police barrier. Detroit police stood in in between the barrier to mitigate conflict between the two groups.

Detroit activists from 13 different organizations marched through the city in the days following the 2020 general election, joining movements across the nation to demand that all votes be counted in response to President Trump’s threats to go to the Supreme Court in order to stop votes from being counted, a clear threat to the democracy itself. From the White House in the early morning hours of November 4th, Trump chose to prematurely claim victory by stating "This is a fraud on the American public. This is an embarrassment to our country…We were getting ready to win this election. Frankly, we did win this election." Trump went on further, showing his disdain as he trailed Biden in key states by making threats - "We want the law to be used in a proper manner, so we'll be going to the U.S. Supreme Court… We want all voting to stop. We don't want them to find any ballots at 4 o'clock in the morning and add them to the list. It's a very sad moment." The Trump campaign has since filed lawsuits in Michigan, Georgia, and Pennsylvania while also demanding a recount in Wisconsin as a last ditch effort to stop the vote in places Trump is ahead, counting again in states he is behind, and to cast a shadow of doubt upon the election as a whole.

Voters cast their ballots in the Metro Detroit suburb, Royal Oak, Michigan for the 2020 presidential election. With over 4 million people living in Metro-Detroit, the region is a key battle ground to win the state of Michigan in the race to the White House.

Bernie Sanders held a campaign rally in support for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris at Macomb Community College in Warren, Michigan on October 5, 2020 to discuss the middle class, health insurance, climate change, and more to appeal to a vital electorate. Macomb County is viewed as a crucial battle ground in the state of Michigan for the 2020 election as in previous election cycles, the county as swung from backing Obama in 2008 and 2012 to Trump in 2016. The drive-in style rally allowed for safe social distancing in regards to concerns over COVID-19 for the hundreds of supporters in attendance. Pro-Trump protestors organized just outside of the official Biden-Harris campaign rally space to show their opposition to the various Democratic platforms. One particular pro-Trump protestor infiltrated the official rally to wave a Trump 2020 flag in front of the stage and yell in effort to disrupt Bernie Sanders’ speech. After the rally ended, verbal confrontations occurred between the Republican and Democratic constituents in the side parking lot. 

During campaign visits to Michigan on September 22, 2020, vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris made a stop at Headliners Barbershop to talk to voters along with Michigan Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist II. Detroit, a majority Black city is a likely make or break voter population for the Biden-Harris ticket in the state of Michigan for the 2020 election.

An estimated 10,000 Trump supporters were in attendance at the presidential rally hosted at MBS International Airport in Freeland, Michigan on September 10, 2020. With twice as many people in attendance as expected, many supporters filled overflow areas to see Trump descent Air Force One and speak on stage from a jumbo screen outside the hanger where the main stage was located. A small gathering of counter protestors organized outside of the airport to display their opposition to the president’s rhetoric and policies, seeing some tension form as Trump supporters began to shout back.

After the Woodward Dream Cruise was canceled due to concerns over COVID-19, Oakland County Republicans organized a MAGA Classic Car Cruise along the Woodward corridor through Metro Detroit suburbs on August 15, 2020. While the event was mostly banner waving to vintage vehicles, a small counter protest against President Trump formed with minimal interaction as most sides stayed separate. However, a press photographer was repeatedly harassed by Trump supporters despite having her press pass around her neck. A separate incident resulted in the arrest of an aggressive Trump supporter who verbally assaulted numerous counter protestors and physically assaulted another. The man was arrested by Bloomfield Hills Police while backing up his car aggressively, then burning out in the busy parking park to get away, all after receiving multiple warnings to leave peacefully.

Gun rights advocates and militia members from the Michigan Liberty Militia, the Michigan Home Guard, the Three Percenters, the Boogaloo Boys, the Proud Boys, and others gathered at the Michigan State Capitol building in Lansing, Michigan for the annual Constitution Day - Second Amendment rally on September 17, 2020. Most attendees open carried long rifles and handguns in expression of their Second Amendment rights that state “a well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”