WASHINGTON — House Democrats highlighted last year’s protests at the Michigan state Capitol and the alleged plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in the third day of former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial.
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Trump had made several comments denouncing the governor and her pandemic-related executive orders.
During the Save America rally before the riots at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, Trump had said the only person allowed to go sailing in Michigan was Whitmer’s husband, referencing coronavirus restrictions in the state.
He also didn’t do enough to oppose the kidnapping plot, House Democrats said.
In fact, it had been Whitmer who had thanked Trump for the federal law enforcement operation that had foiled “the conspiracy that had been encouraged by his rhetoric.”
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“He cannot bring himself to publicly oppose a kidnapping and potential assassination conspiracy plot against a sitting governor of one of our 50 states,” Democrats said. “Trump knew exactly what he was doing in inciting the Jan. 6 mob. He had just seen how easily his words and actions inspired violence in Michigan. He sent a clear message to his supporters. He encouraged planning and conspiracies to take over Capitol buildings and threatened public officials who refused to bow down to his political will.”
Watch live coverage of the impeachment trial here.
