Michigan Conservatives Go for Gridlock to Protest Virus Orders

Advocacy groups annoyed by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s anti-coronavirus orders on social distancing want to protest, but they’re doing it from the safety of their own cars.

Michigan Conservative Coalition and Michigan Freedom Fund have invited like-minded people to an “Operation Gridlock” demonstration at “high noon” on Wednesday. They plan to drive in circles around the statehouse, a classic shut-down tactic, but it will be difficult to block traffic in a town that currently has none.

Whitmer’s office is across the street from the capitol building. “People always say: ‘Conservatives never protest because they are too busy working.’ Well, guess what. You’re not working—so it’s time to PROTEST,” the groups said on Facebook.

Whitmer (D) last week extended the state’s shelter-in-place order through April 30 and expanded the shutdown to more retailers deemed “nonessential,” including garden centers and the sections of home improvement stores that sell paint and furniture.

“The Greater Lansing area has not seen any issues with traffic flow/movement since the governor’s executive order,” Lansing Police Department spokesman Robert Merritt said in an email.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Ebert in Columbus, Ohio at aebert@bloomberglaw.com

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Katherine Rizzo at krizzo@bgov.com; Heather Rothman at hrothman@bgov.com