Getty A Michigan pilot used his plane to swear at the state's governor, Gretchen Whitmer, pictured here.
Ed Frederick, a 45-year-old pilot, took his protest of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s extension of the stay-at-home order to the skies.
According to photos and an interview with the New York Post, he flew along a path that spelled out the letters ‘F U’ and an arrow pointing in the direction of the governor’s home.
Frederick told the New York Post he was responding to Whitmer’s announcement that she was extending the state’s lockdown through to May 15 and the state of emergency until May 28. Frederick said a big part of his frustration lies with the fact that he runs a local business with his sister that has been negatively impacted by the shutdowns.
“That’s been an issue for a lot of people in the rural counties,” he said in the interview. “There are 82 counties, but really only four need to be locked down.”
He also said Whitmer seemed to be on a politically motivated “power trip.”
“… I think it’s for the safety of her keeping her votes because the southeast is highly democratic,” he said.
Michigan Is Locked Down Until May 15
Whitmer signed an executive order May 1 extending the stay-at-home order for another two weeks.
She wrote that she was extending the stay-at-home order “to suppress the spread of COVID-19, to prevent the state’s health care system from being overwhelmed, to allow time for the production of critical test kits, ventilators, and personal protective equipment … and to avoid needless deaths.”
The order permits critical infrastructure workers and those conducting essential business, such as healthcare and government employees, to travel to work. However, it prevents other Michigan residents from leaving their homes other than for recreation, to seek healthcare and to purchase groceries and other necessities.
Michigan Is Under a State of Emergency Until May 28
GettyProtesters outside of Michigan’s Capitol building.
On April 30, Whitmer declared a state of emergency until May 28, citing the Emergency Powers of the Governor Act of 1945.
Before this, Whitmer had already faced armed protesters who held protests against the stay-at-home orders outside her house, as a local Detroit TV station reported.
Whitmer’s new declaration was met with protesters, who crowded Michigan’s Capitol building and accused her of limiting their freedom. Many also wrote messages on social media.
I won’t say who or where but the Michigan economy is opening up regardless of @GovWhitmer power grab
Other residents of Michigan, however, have supported the measures and opposed the protestors’ message and methods.
Angry armed white dudes blocking #Michigan @GovWhitmer’s office. Allowed to act like terrorists. Can you imagine if they were black?
Frederick said he supported the protestors in the Capitol but didn’t approve of them bringing their weapons into the Capitol.
“We have an open carry, but just because it’s legal, doesn’t mean you should do it — it’s sort of like [the virus],” he said. “I don’t need the government to wipe my tushie every two minutes,” he said. “Let me know what the problems are going to be and let me know what the ramifications are; I’m responsible for myself.”
Republican Lawmakers Want to Curb Whitmer’s Powers
GettyU.S. Rep. Justin Amash, a current Libertarian presidential candidate.
U.S. Rep. Justin Amash (I-MI), a current Libertarian candidate for president who lives near Grand Rapids, said he agrees with the protests and would prefer to see area-specific lockdowns.
“Like I live near the city of Grand Rapids and you might give those counties and cities more authority to make decisions about how to allocate resources and handle the virus in the particular community,” Amash said during a podcast interview with Reason. “Because there’s a big difference between, say, what’s happening on the east side of the state and what’s happening on the west side of the state.”
He also said he believes Whitmer should do more to coordinate with the White House, which has encouraged reopening areas where there are low rates of infection.
The Detroit Free Press reported that Republicans in Michigan’s Legislature, which opposed Whitmer’s state-of-emergency declaration, have introduced bills to reduce her power by repealing the Emergency Powers of the Governor Act and amending the Emergency Management Act of 1976. Whitmer said she would veto those bills.
Whitmer spoke to the public the day after her announcement and said while she understood the public’s anger, she wants people to be realistic about how slow a return to normal could be.
“Yesterday’s scene at the capitol was disturbing, to be quite honest,” she said on a press conference live-streamed on Facebook. “Swastikas and confederate flags, nooses and automatic rifles do not represent who we are as Michiganders.
“Now we must channel that same energy against our common enemy, COVID-19. I know that some people are angry and many are feeling restless. It’s ok to feel that way. There’s nothing I would want more than to flip a switch and return to normal, but that’s not how it’s going to work, unfortunately.”
How Hard Has Michigan Been Hit by Coronavirus?
GettyA coronavirus testing site set up in Dearborn, Michigan.
According to data from Michigan’s government website, the county where Detroit is located (Wayne) along with two neighboring counties (Oakland and Macomb) have been hit hardest by coronavirus. Of the state’s 43,207 cases and 4,020 deaths, 30,247 cases and 3,254 deaths have occurred in those three counties as of May 2.
The state is facing roughly 154 deaths per day.
Still, Whitmer recently announced that she would allow construction and real estate activities to resume on May 7.
“We can now start the process of gradually resuming in-person work and activities that were temporarily suspended under my prior orders. In so doing, however, we must move with care, patience, and vigilance, recognizing the grave harm that this virus continues to inflict on our state and how quickly our progress in suppressing it can be undone,” she wrote in her executive order.
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