Police responded Tuesday to false reports of school shootings at multiple schools across Michigan.

“This morning there have been calls to Okemos High School and Jackson High School about an active shooter which has been found to be a hoax. Reminder that reporting a false threat against schools or business is a crime,” Michigan State Police First District tweeted Tuesday morning.

🚨HAPPENING NOW!!!🚨 This morning there have been calls to Okemos High School and Jackson High School about an active shooter which has been found to be a hoax. Reminder that reporting a false threat against schools or business is a crime.
— MSP First District (@MSPFirstDist) February 7, 2023

According to a Michigan State Police (MSP) letter sent to school districts, posted on Facebook by Muskegon Public Schools, “the [Detroit and Southeast Michigan Intelligence Center (DSEMIIC)] and the [Michigan Intelligence Operations Center (MIOC)] have become aware of several swatting calls that are targeting educational facilities around the state, including K-12 schools in Detroit, Jackson, Ann Arbor and Okemos.”

MSP said that the DSEMIIC and the MIOC “assess that these are the actions of a coordinated campaign” targeting Michigan schools.

“At this time, neither the DSEMIIC or the MIOC are aware of any specific or credible threats to K-12 educational facilities in Michigan,” MSP wrote in the letter.

The letter to schools says that multiple law enforcement agencies reported that the caller, with a heavy accent, stated the school’s name, gave the address for the school, stated that they are a teacher in the school, reported that a student has shot another student and stated the shooting occurred in room numbers that are found to not exist in the school.

Michigan State Police did not respond to a request for further information or a list of all affected school districts.

Michigan Advance is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Michigan Advance maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Susan Demas for questions: info@michiganadvance.com. Follow Michigan Advance on Facebook and Twitter.

On Dec. 28, 2022, the Let MI Kids Learn campaign withdrew both of its petitions from the Board of State Canvassers; one to create the Student Opportunity Scholarship Program to pay tuition and fees in K-12 public or private schools, homeschooling materials and online learning programs for students with financial need; and the other to make contributions to the program tax deductible.

“We are not surprised that this disastrous petition was pulled, and we’re very pleased because this marks a major victory for public school students, parents, and educators. Over the years — and especially last November — Michiganders have shown time and time again at the ballot box that they do not support efforts to defund public education,” said Casandra Ulbrich, spokesperson for For MI Kids, For Our Schools, a ballot committee opposed to the Let MI Kids Learn proposal.

A spokesperson for Let MI Kids Learn did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.

The Let MI Kids Learn campaign, which is backed by former U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, a longtime advocate and funder of school choice and charter schools, missed the June 1, 2022 deadline to submit petition signatures for the November ballot.

The campaign’s likely plan after missing the June deadline was to submit the valid number of signatures to get the proposal in front of the Legislature that was then controlled by Republicans. Lawmakers could then approve it without having to submit to voter approval or be subject to rejection by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer — who vetoed a similar package in November.

However, since June, both the House and Senate flipped to Democratic control and would be unlikely to pass this proposal.

“Betsy DeVos and her allies never wanted the people of Michigan to vote on this, which is why they wanted to, and subsequently failed to ram it through a favorable legislature last year,” Ulbrich said. “We will remain vigilant over the coming years, as DeVos and her anti-public education allies have shown that they’re willing to go above and beyond to try to destroy our neighborhood schools.”

Opponents to the Let MI Kids Learn proposal argued the plan violates the Michigan Constitution and the 1970 Blaine Amendment, which prohibits public money from going to private schools.

“Supporters of this ill-conceived ballot initiative confirmed what we knew all along, which was that Michigan voters would have rejected the proposal if it was on the ballot,” said Peter Spadafore, executive director of the Michigan Alliance for Student Opportunity. “This was purely a political campaign to have the Legislature circumvent the will of the voters and enact an inequitable voucher system.”

This story was published earlier by the Michigan Advance, an affiliate of the nonprofit States Newsroom network, which includes the Florida Phoenix.

Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Diane Rado for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com. Follow Florida Phoenix on Facebook and Twitter.

Republican Secretary of State nominee Kristina Karamo continues to push baseless claims about election fraud in the state, telling supporters “there is more to come.”

Karamo has yet to concede from the race after losing Tuesday’s election to Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson by 14 points — the largest margin of any top statewide race.

Democrats held onto all three top statewide offices in Michigan. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer beat GOP gubernatorial nominee Tudor Dixon and Attorney General Dana Nessel beat Republican Matt DePerno. Both DePerno and Dixon have both conceded.

Karamo rose to prominence in the Michigan GOP by falsely claiming election fraud in the 2020 election that former President Donald Trump lost to President Joe Biden.

Before Tuesday’s election, Karamo lost a suit trying to stop absentee voting in Detroit, even though Michigan’s Constitution allows no-reason absentee voting. A judge tossed the lawsuit, saying she failed to prove her claims of election fraud and chastised her from trying to disenfranchise voters.

On and since Election Day, Karamo has tweeted baseless accusations that Detroit, Ann Arbor, Redford and some Oakland County cities like Novi did not comply with Michigan Election Law.

She continued to do so in a statement on Thursday, saying her team “received multiple reports of election law violations and other irregularities throughout multiple counties.”

Karamo accused an Ann Arbor clerk of “engaging in mass election crimes” for allowing same-day registration and voting after 8 p.m.

Since Proposal 2 was passed in 2018, same-day registration and voting is allowed past 8 p.m. as long as voters remain in line.

Karamo ended her Thursday statement telling supporters to “standby” and that “there’s much to come.”

Michigan Advance is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Michigan Advance maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Susan Demas for questions: info@michiganadvance.com. Follow Michigan Advance on Facebook and Twitter.

The Associated Press called the election just after 1 a.m. Wednesday.

According to White House pool reports, President Joe Biden made a call to Whitmer to congratulate her after Fox News called the race for her hours before. The governor is in Detroit for Democrats’ election party.

“We are waiting for some final numbers … But we are feeling damn good about where we are headed,” Whitmer said to supporters during her election night watch party.

“I never thought I’d be so happy about Fox News but I’m glad they called this election, too,” she added.

Dixon has not addressed supporters at her Grand Rapids party as scheduled and sent out a statement blasting the network, upon which she has done many appearances during the campaign.

“The race is not over yet, and Fox’s call was premature. We expect counting continue into tomorrow in our major counties. This race has a long way to go,” Dixon said in a statement.

Whitmer’s campaign has been centered around her successes during her first term, focusing on historic investments into the state’s K-12 budget, her efforts to protect abortion rights in the state, growth in the state’s automotive industry and recent economic growth after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Democratic Governors Association Chair North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper congratulated Whitmer in a statement.

“Michiganders voted for another four years of progress and reelected Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to continue to push the state forward. She is a strong and proven leader who has always put Michigan first by working with both parties to grow and prepare the economy for the future, rebuild roads and bridges, defend democracy, and protect women’s reproductive rights,” he said.

Just before 1:30 a.m., Whitmer Campaign Manager Preston Elliott released a statement declaring victory.

“Tonight, Michiganders across the state made their voices heard to re-elect Governor Whitmer and Lieutenant Governor Gilchrist so they can continue building on their historic progress investing in public education, strengthening infrastructure, fixing the damn roads, growing the economy, and defending reproductive freedom. Governor Whitmer and Lieutenant Governor Gilchrist are grateful for the overwhelming support of Michiganders from Monroe to Marquette and look forward to continuing to serve the great state of Michigan for four more years,” Elliott said.

On the campaign trail, Dixon, a former right-wing commentator, focused on anti-LGBTQ+ issues, criticizing Whitmer on her COVID-19 stay-home orders and crime.

Early results in critical Oakland County, with 72% of votes tallied, show Whitmer with a strong lead over Dixon — Whitmer with 60.3% of the tallied votes, Dixon with 38.4%.

Dixon has done better in rural, conservative counties, such as in West Michigan. In Ottawa County, with 70.5% of the votes in, Dixon has garnered 61.5% of the vote and Whitmer has 37%.

Michigan Advance is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Michigan Advance maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Susan Demas for questions: info@michiganadvance.com. Follow Michigan Advance on Facebook and Twitter.

With just days before the Tuesday election, that is the message advocates for the ballot proposal to codify Roe-era abortion rights in the Michigan Constitution are trying to spread to voters who may be torn between their political party and their beliefs on abortion.

“It was just a few short years ago that I was advising the very people in the groups who are opposing Proposal 3 today. Those people are deliberately lying about what Proposal 3 will do to create fear among voters,” Timmer said. “And I know that because I sat in the room and helped them create messages like this and campaigns like this in the past. I know the strategy, I know the tactics and I know exactly what they’re doing.”

Michigan currently has a 1931 law criminalizing abortion, with no exceptions for rape, incest and the mother’s health, that could have gone into effect after the U.S. Supreme Court in June overturned Roe v. Wade. That law is temporarily blocked amid lawsuits from both Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Planned Parenthood of Michigan.

In July, the Reproductive Freedom for All (RFFA) coalition, which aims to amend the state Constitution to ensure Michiganders’ right to make and carry out decisions relating to pregnancy, including abortion, birth control, prenatal care and childbirth, submitted a record-breaking 730,000 signatures to get on the ballot.

Planned Parenthood Federation of America President and CEO Alexis McGill Johnson said that energy has carried on over the past four months, especially after voters in Kansas voted down in August an amendment to the state’s constitution that would allow state lawmakers to restrict or ban abortions.

“People are excited that Election Day is finally here because we haven’t had an opportunity like they’ve had in Kansas,” said McGill Johnson in an interview with the Advance. “But it has definitely come at a cost. We’re trying to make sure we’re leaving no stone unturned, no voter untouched.”

Opponents, which include the Michigan Catholic Conference and Right to Life of Michigan, claim that Proposal 3 would repeal current parental consent laws around abortion or allow minors to go through gender-reaffirming surgeries without their parents’ consent. Experts have disputed the claim, and Proposal 3 advocates say that it will just restore abortion rights in Michigan before the Supreme Court ruled in Roe.

“I think what is deeply disturbing to me about the opposition is that they are engaging in incredibly anti-democratic forms, using misinformation to talk about the ways in which Prop 3 doesn’t do what we believe it will,” said McGill Johnson.

Nicole Wells Stallworth, executive director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan, said that a big part of their job on the campaign has been dispelling misinformation about the proposal.

“We just want to make sure that anybody who needs the information to demystify Proposal 3 has it. And we’re working really hard to do that,” said Wells Stallworth.

McGill Johnson said anti-Proposal 3 groups, like Right to Life of Michigan or the Catholic Conference, have been “playing the long game.”

According to data from AdImpact released last month, Proposal 3 opponents were estimated to spend more than double on TV ads before Election Day than groups in support of Proposal 3.

Despite most attacks coming from the right, McGill Johnson said this “isn’t a partisan issue or an issue that affects one demographic.”

A few protesters gathered outside, purporting to be progressives against Proposal 3.

McGill Johnson and Wells Stallworth both talked about the challenges women, especially Black women, will face under the state’s 91-year-old abortion ban — like an estimated 24% increase in maternal death rate in Michigan.

If abortion is banned nationwide, the overall number of maternal deaths is expected to rise by 24%. For Black women, maternal death rates nationwide are estimated to rise by 39% with a federal ban.

“Maternal death is preventable,” said Wells Stallworth. “That is in part why Proposal 3 is so important. Because Black women, as all women, deserve to be able to have the right to reproductive freedom to make and carry out their own birthing decisions.”

Michigan Advance is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Michigan Advance maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Susan Demas for questions: info@michiganadvance.com. Follow Michigan Advance on Facebook and Twitter.

Three resolutions celebrating the state’s Hispanic, Maltese-American and deaf communities were sent to a House committee Wednesday where they will likely sit and wilt.

Such nonbinding resolutions are typically considered non-controversial and pass on bipartisan votes. But Wednesday’s session in the GOP-controlled House, the first in months, turned long and contentious as the Nov. 8 election approaches.

“This is just another attack on marginalized communities that the Republicans are using their power to block the mere celebration of marginalized communities,” State Rep. Darrin Camilleri (D-Brownstown Twp.) told the Advance.

State Rep. Darrin Camilleri (D-Brownstown Twp.) addresses the House during the budget debate on Tuesday, May 2, 2017 | House Democrats photo

Camilleri, who is the first Maltese-American to serve in the Legislature, said he has sponsored his resolution six times. The five times prior the resolutions were passed.

Last year, all three resolutions were adopted the same day they were given a first reading.

“My community has so much pride about this resolution,” Camilleri said. “Communities are thrilled to know they have representatives who represent and acknowledge us.”

The other resolutions sent to the Government Operations Committee were House Resolution 335, introduced by Rep. Matt Koleszar (D-Plymouth), a resolution to declare September 2022 as Deaf Awareness Month in Michigan, and House Resolution 338, introduced by Rep. Mary Cavanagh (D-Redford Twp.), a resolution to declare Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, 2022, as Hispanic Heritage Month in Michigan.

The Government Operations Committee is known as the place where bills are typically sent to die.

In June, the GOP-led Michigan Senate declined to take up a resolution recognizing LGBTQ+ Pride Month sponsored by Sen. Jeremy Moss (D-Southfield). In 2021, the Senate had, for the first time, passed that same resolution.

However, Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey (R-Clarklake) wanted changes to this year’s measure, which Moss refused to include. Moss said Shirkey wanted to add a disclaimer that would have said: “Though not every citizen in Michigan agrees with the lifestyle of the LGBT community, it is agreed that every life is special, precious, unique and loved by the the creator, and each person is created in God’s image.”

When asked why the House resolutions were sent to committee, a House Republican spokesperson did not respond.

But Camilleri said that no matter the reasoning, it is “one of the worst versions of Lansing politics.”

“To have them continue to show disrespect to marginalized communities just shows how much the power has gone to their heads,” Camilleri said.

Michigan Advance is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Michigan Advance maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Susan Demas for questions: info@michiganadvance.com. Follow Michigan Advance on Facebook and Twitter.

After months of silence on the multiple attempts in the courts to protect abortion rights in Michigan, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday that voters should get the chance to decide if abortion rights should be enshrined in the state Constitution.

The question in front of the state’s highest court was whether the Board of State Canvassers acted outside of its ministerial power when members deadlocked last week on whether or not to certify the Reproductive Freedom for All (RFFA) ballot proposal summary.

The two Republicans on the evenly split board voted against certifying the proposal because of a spacing error that squished together some words in the proposal language. Opponents who challenged the proposal argued that the proposal is “gibberish,” but advocates for the proposal say that the language is still legible and state election law does not regulate spacing.

Five of the seven Michigan Supreme Court justices agreed with the RFFA advocates — four nominated by Democrats and one nominated by the GOP. Justices Brian Zahra and David Viviano, both nominated by Republicans, dissented.

“The challengers have not produced a single signer who claims to have been confused by the limited-spacing sections in the full text portion of the proposal,” said Justice Bridget McCormack in her opinion. “Yet two members of the Board of State Canvassers would prevent the people of Michigan from voting on the proposal because they believe that the decreased spacing makes the text no longer ‘[t]he full text.’”

The majority of the Michigan Supreme Court justices ruled that the board must certify the ballot proposal and voters will have the chance to either approve or reject it on Nov. 8.

“We are energized and motivated now more than ever to restore the protections that were lost
under Roe,” said Darci McConnell, the RFFA communication director. “This affirms that more than 730,000 voters read, signed, and understood the petitions and that the frivilous claims from the opposition are simply designed to distract from our effort to keep the abortion rights we had under Roe for nearly 50 years.”

The RFFA initatitive aims to amend the state Constitution to ensure Michiganders’ right to make and carry out decisions relating to pregnancy, including abortion, birth control, prenatal care and childbirth.

A majority of Michiganders support legal abortion in polling and RFFA submitted in July a record-breaking 730,000 signatures to get on the ballot, which analysts have said bodes well for the measure. However, anti-abortion advocates, such as Right to Life of Michigan, have indicated they’re willing to spend heavily against the proposal.

After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to overturn Roe v. Wade in June, those for and against abortion rights have been watching the judicial action in Michigan play out, waiting to see who will have the final say on abortion access in a state that could be a bellwether in how legal fights will go nationwide.

Without precedence from Roe, Michigan has a 1931 law criminalizing abortion that is still on the books, but it is currently on hold as two cases slowly move through the courts. Beyond efforts through the RFFA initiative, there are also currently two lawsuits — one filed by Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, the other by Planned Parenthood of Michigan — to repeal the 91-year-old abortion ban.

Repeatedly, Whitmer has urged the Michigan Supreme Court to review a lawsuit she filed in April, asking the Court to determine if the state Constitution protects abortion. But so far, the court hasn’t taken up the issue.

However, there was action Wednesday in a lower court. A Court of Claims judge ruled that the law was unconstitutional and unenforceable.

Kansas was the first state to protect abortion access through the ballot box when voters came out last month in droves to reject a proposed amendment to the state’s constitution that would allow state lawmakers to restrict or ban abortion. Abortion rights advocates had high hopes Michigan would have a similar outcome, but that was halted by the deadlock.

In a statement released after the court rules, opponents of the proposal, Citizens to Support MI Women and Children, said they are “confident that a majority will say no” to the RFFA proposal.

Others celebrated the fact that voters will be able to decide whether the state’s Constitution clearly protects abortion access.

“We wholeheartedly and unapologetically support abortion access and believe in expanding voting rights and we’re glad to see the Michigan Supreme Court do the right thing and protect Michigander’s right to vote on these critical issues,” said Lonnie Scott, executive director of Progress Michigan, a progressive, Lansing-based think tank. “This isn’t the first time Republican members of a board of canvassers have tried to undermine the democratic process and overrule thousands of voters, and it probably won’t be the last, and we need to address this problem in the long term. But for now, we’re celebrating the Michigan Supreme Court’s decision and look forward to voters voting on both of these proposals.”

Chair Lavora Barnes said today’s decision by the State Supreme Court to allow the Reproductive Freedom for All initiative to appear on the November ballot is a “victory for all Michiganders.”

“Abortion is a decision that should be left between a woman and her doctor. There is no space and no reason for lawmakers or radical anti-abortion activists to be in that room with a woman when she makes one of the most difficult decisions of her life,” Barnes said.

The Michigan Supreme Court justices had a tight deadline to deliver a ruling after the board met last week. A decision needed to be made before county clerks’ deadline to certify general election ballots at 5 p.m. Friday.

In total, there are eight amicus briefs filed in this case. As of Thursday afternoon, seven groups and individuals filed amicus briefs arguing that the challenge against the RFFA proposal has no merit — Michigan United, a Detroit-based nonprofit advocacy group; Neal Goldfarb, an attorney with expertise in linguistics and lexicography; a group of University of Michigan professors; Attorney General Dana Nessel; The Michigan Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP); League of Women Voters of Michigan; and prosecuting attorneys from Washtenaw, Genesee, Ingham, Kalamazoo, Marquette, Oakland and Wayne counties.

Another group — composed of the American Decency Association, Faith2Action Michigan, Transformation Michigan, Michigan Heartbeat Coalition and Michigan Pastors Alliance — wrote in favor of the board’s decision to reject the proposal.

Michigan Advance is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Michigan Advance maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Susan Demas for questions: info@michiganadvance.com. Follow Michigan Advance on Facebook and Twitter.

Republican leaders from the House and Senate filed a request in an appellate court late Wednesday night asking for the Court of Claims’ injunction on the state’s 1931 abortion ban law to be lifted.

The Legislature’s filing described the injunction as an “egregious abuse of judicial power.”

After Planned Parenthood of Michigan filed a lawsuit in April to block enforcement of the 1931 ban, which would make all abortions in the state a felony unless to save the life of the “pregnant woman,” Court of Claims Judge Elizabeth Gleicher ordered an injunction in the lawsuit, temporarily blocking enforcement of the ban until the court makes a final decision in the case.

That’s the only thing currently preventing the state from penalizing abortion providers in Michigan since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last month.

Planned Parenthood of Michigan declined to comment on the Republicans’ request, but House Minority Leader Donna Lasinski (D-Scio Twp.) criticized it.

“Republican leadership has once more taken a radical maneuver in the middle of the night to defend one of the nation’s most extreme abortion bans on behalf of the entire Legislature without a vote before the House or even a moment of consideration by the chamber,” Lasinski said in a statement Thursday.

Last month, state Rep. Pamela Hornberger (R-Chesterfield Twp.) told Politico that Republicans in the state Legislature aren’t “thinking we’re going to let this 1931 law go back into effect and people are going to start getting arrested.

“Instead, we are fully prepared to have those difficult conversations with our colleagues,” Hornberger said.

However, Lasinski said Republicans’ “policy all along has been ’31 or bust.”

This move by Republicans to end the court’s injunction isn’t the first time conservatives have attempted this.

In May, Right to Life of Michigan, the Michigan Catholic Conference, Kent County Prosecutor Christopher Becker and Jackson County Prosecutor Jerard Jarzynka asked the Court of Appeals to lift the injunction.

The court hasn’t taken action on either request.

Michigan Advance is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Michigan Advance maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Susan Demas for questions: info@michiganadvance.com. Follow Michigan Advance on Facebook and Twitter.

Two men charged with plotting to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer have been called in for another trial after a trial in April ended with a split jury decision.

Judge Robert Jonker ordered Thursday that Adam Fox, 39, and Barry Croft, 46, will stand before another jury to “weigh the evidence.”

On April 8, jurors in a federal court in Grand Rapids said Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta, two other men allegedly involved in the plot, were not guilty, but didn’t come to a conclusion on whether Fox and Croft are guilty.

All four had been charged with conspiring to kidnap Whitmer from her vacation home in northern Michigan in October 2020, as well as related weapons charges.

Jonker declared a mistrial in Fox’s and Croft’s cases.

After the first jury could not agree on whether the two men are guilty of conspiring to kidnap the governor, Attorney General Dana Nessel said she believed the jury got it wrong.

Michigan Advance is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Michigan Advance maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Susan Demas for questions: info@michiganadvance.com. Follow Michigan Advance on Facebook and Twitter.

During the Michigan Department of Civil Rights’ 2022 Civil Rights Summit Wednesday, Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel criticized the GOP-led Senate for not passing a Pride Month resolution this week.

Senate Resolution 149, sponsored by Sen. Jeremy Moss (D-Southfield), the first openly gay senator in Michigan, was referred to the Government Operations Committee on Tuesday. From there, it will likely not get any action, even though an identical resolution passed last year.

GOP-led Michigan Senate again derails LGBTQ+ Pride resolution

“I just don’t know what’s going on in our country. I don’t know what’s going on in our state,” said Nessel during the summit. “And to echo some of the words of Sen. Jeremy Moss yesterday, if anyone caught him in yet another one of his tirades against discrimination in the state Senate, I am so tired of having prominent members of our state government create wedges that don’t help us, that don’t heal us, but divide us. And that’s all they do.”

Nessel said Republicans in the Legislature have been more focused on condemning drag queens, stalling on gun reform bills and spreading misinformation about inclusive curriculums.

Republicans have fueled cultural flashpoints like critical race theory, a college-level theory that examines the systemic effects of white supremacy in America, which almost no Michigan’s K-12 schools teach the concept.

More recently, far-right national figures have targeted drag queens, falsely claiming that they are “child predators.” In Michigan, Republicans have said curriculums that include education on LGBTQ+ people and identities are predatory and “grooming” young children.

xI know what’s not a problem for kids who are seeking a good education: drag queens. … I am just so sick and tired of having marginalized minority members of our communities in our state be used as target practice, instead of us all coming together and understanding that we need to take all communities in our state and lift them up, not tear them down.

“Let me say this, critical race theory is something that I’ve never heard of before just recently. And I can tell you, as having two kids that went all the way through the public school system, they never heard of it either,” Nessel said. “I know what’s not a problem for kids who are seeking a good education: drag queens. … I am just so sick and tired of having marginalized minority members of our communities in our state be used as target practice, instead of us all coming together and understanding that we need to take all communities in our state and lift them up, not tear them down.”

Nessel also spoke to the audience about improving the education system and students’ constitutional right to a quality education, while also improving mental and behavioral health support in schools.

She urged more schools to implement restorative justice practices that “that emphasizes repairing the harm to the victim and the school community caused by the pupils’ misconduct, instead of suspension and … expulsion.”

“When you’re talking about these positive behavioral practices, they make schools safer. And of course, they reduce the disparate impact on black students, Hispanic students, AAPI [Asian American and Pacific Islander] students indigenous, disabled, LGBTQ+ kids, all of them,” Nessel said. “We need more social workers, we need more psychologists, we need more therapists and we need a lot more understanding. Also, less guns.”

Michigan Advance is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Michigan Advance maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Susan Demas for questions: info@michiganadvance.com. Follow Michigan Advance on Facebook and Twitter.

Attorneys for the Patrick Lyoya family released Tuesday the findings of an independent autopsy performed by a world-renowned forensic pathology expert, Werner Spitz.

Patrick Lyoya, a 26-year-old Black man, was fatally shot in the back of the head by a white Grand Rapids police officer on April 4. The Grand Rapids Police Department (GRPD) released several videos Wednesday showing the officer shooting Lyoya in the head. The four videos are from the officer’s body-worn camera, an in-car camera, a home surveillance system and a cell phone recording.

Spitz said he believes the gun was pressed against Lyoya’s head when the officer shot him “with a very powerful bullet.” The GRPD has not released the officer’s name.

Attorney Ven Johnson of Ven Johnson Law said the autopsy, which shows Lyoya was shot about 4 inches below the top of the scalp, also shows that Lyoya did not put up a fight against the officer.

“He wasn’t fighting. What he was ultimately doing was trying to defend himself and push the officer away from him,” said Johnson during a press conference in Detroit Tuesday. “He was resisting … but he was not actively fighting this officer. Hence, you have no physical injuries to the knuckles, face, body, etc. I would think that’s pretty obvious.”

Johnson was joined by attorney Ben Crump, a national civil rights attorney working with the Lyoya family who represented the families of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, two African Americans who were killed by police. The lawyers said the GRPD officer did not give a fair warning before using the gun or the taser.

According to GRPD Chief Eric Winstrom on Wednesday, prior to shooting Lyoya, the officer deployed a taser twice, but the taser never made contact with Lyoya.

“From the second he pulled out the weapon until he shot and killed Patrick was milliseconds,” said Johnson. “He never gave a verbal warning, which is required under the federal law.”

Hundreds of people have protested the killing of Lyoya in downtown Grand Rapids, calling on the police department to release the name of the officer, put him on unpaid leave until the conclusion of the Michigan State Police investigation, fire him and then arrest him.

John. E. Johnson, Jr., Executive Director of the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, said Monday he is having discussions with Attorney General Dana Nessel on a potential collaborative effort to examine whether the Grand Rapids Police Department has a history of discriminatory practices.

“The residents of Grand Rapids deserve to know that the state of Michigan takes seriously their right to equal treatment under the law,” Johnson said.

Attorneys for the Patrick Lyoya family released Tuesday the findings of an independent autopsy performed by a world-renowned forensic pathology expert, Werner Spitz.

Patrick Lyoya, a 26-year-old Black man, was fatally shot in the back of the head by a white Grand Rapids police officer on April 4. The Grand Rapids Police Department (GRPD) released several videos Wednesday showing the officer shooting Lyoya in the head. The four videos are from the officer’s body-worn camera, an in-car camera, a home surveillance system and a cell phone recording.

Spitz said he believes the gun was pressed against Lyoya’s head when the officer shot him “with a very powerful bullet.” The GRPD has not released the officer’s name.

Spitz has worked on several prominent cases, including the investigations of the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. and the deaths of Michael Jackson and Casey Anthony.

Attorney Ven Johnson of Ven Johnson Law said the autopsy, which shows Lyoya was shot about 4 inches below the top of the scalp, also shows that Lyoya did not put up a fight against the officer.

“He wasn’t fighting. What he was ultimately doing was trying to defend himself and push the officer away from him,” said Johnson during a press conference in Detroit Tuesday. “He was resisting … but he was not actively fighting this officer. Hence, you have no physical injuries to the knuckles, face, body, etc. I would think that’s pretty obvious.”

Johnson was joined by attorney Ben Crump, a national civil rights attorney working with the Lyoya family who represented the families of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, two African Americans who were killed by police. The lawyers said the GRPD officer did not give a fair warning before using the gun or the taser.

According to GRPD Chief Eric Winstrom on Wednesday, prior to shooting Lyoya, the officer deployed a taser twice, but the taser never made contact with Lyoya.

“From the second he pulled out the weapon until he shot and killed Patrick was milliseconds,” said Johnson. “He never gave a verbal warning, which is required under the federal law.”

Hundreds of people have protested the killing of Lyoya in downtown Grand Rapids, calling on the police department to release the name of the officer, put him on unpaid leave until the conclusion of the Michigan State Police investigation, fire him and then arrest him.

John. E. Johnson, Jr., Executive Director of the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, said Monday he is having discussions with Attorney General Dana Nessel on a potential collaborative effort to examine whether the Grand Rapids Police Department has a history of discriminatory practices.

“The residents of Grand Rapids deserve to know that the state of Michigan takes seriously their right to equal treatment under the law,” Johnson said.

Michigan Advance is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Michigan Advance maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Susan Demas for questions: info@michiganadvance.com. Follow Michigan Advance on Facebook and Twitter.

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Within minutes, she was marching alongside hundreds of others who took to the streets for the fourth straight day of protests seeking justice for Lyoya.

“I grew up with all brothers. I have a Black father,” said Minor. “These are things they have run into before when interacting with the law. They’ve never had a good time.”

On Wednesday, the Grand Rapids Police Department (GRPD) released several videos showing the officer shooting Lyoya on April 4. The four videos are from the officer’s body-worn camera, an in-car camera, a home surveillance system and a cell phone recording.

Now, protesters are demanding real change in how the GRPD polices Black communities and for the GRPD to release the name of the officer and to arrest him for killing Lyoya.

“I’m not saying all law enforcement is bad, but we’re sick and tired of this,” said Minor. “This happens too often and we see it too much.”

May Rickey, a graduate student at Grand Valley State University, told organizers of the protests for Lyoya that she wants to help ghostwrite or edit proposals to improve life in Grand Rapids for the Black Community through the Participatory Budgeting Grand Rapids (PBGR) initiative.

Hundreds of people took to the streets in Grand Rapids this week after a Grand Rapids police officer fatally shot Patrick Lyoya, a 26-year-old Black man, earlier this month.

“It has been a tough situation and a traumatizing situation,” said Jimmy Barwan, Lyoya’s older brother, who was present at the peaceful protests Tuesday and Wednesday.

“Just out of nowhere, getting information that he’s gone. He’s not alive no more. It really hurts us. That’s my brother. You know, he had a dream. He just recently got his new apartment. He was going to be cutting hair and basically trying to figure out something for himself. But out of nowhere, my brother is killed just like that,” Barwan said.

The Grand Rapids Police Department (GRPD) released several videos Wednesday showing the officer shooting Lyoya in the head on April 4. The four videos are from the officer’s body-worn camera, an in-car camera, a home surveillance system and a cell phone recording.

Protesters are calling on the police department to do more.

Specifically, their demands are for the police department to name and arrest the officer who killed Lyoya, change their policing policies in Black neighborhoods, put the officer on unpaid leave until the end of the investigation and to release all unedited videos of the shooting.

GRPD Chief Eric Winstrom said Wednesday the department has released all the videos they have and blurred some of the video for privacy of the neighbors and to blur graphic content. All audio in the videos is unedited, Winstrom said.

However, Barwan said during Wednesday’s protest that their father saw a different video than the videos the police released.

Many Grand Rapids residents have been calling for GRPD to improve its de-escalation training and calling for the city to defund the department for years. This demand has grown louder since the summer 2020 protests in Grand Rapids and cities across the country calling for justice for George Floyd, a 45-year-old African American man who was killed by a Minneapolis police officer who pinned his knee on Floyd’s neck.

“We know these things are going to happen, but regardless of that, nothing can prepare you for the feeling of it happening,” said Aly, chair of the Royal Black Panther Party of Grand Rapids, which has been organizing the protests, who asked to not be identified by her last name for safety reasons.

“I didn’t want to be right. None of us did,” Aly said. “We wanted people to actually listen. We hoped that people were actually going to listen to us. I should have never come to the point where Patrick lost his life.”

In preparation of protests, many businesses in downtown Grand Rapids boarded up their windows after there was some damage during the 2020 Floyd demonstrations.

The protests over Lyoya’s killing have been peaceful and nonviolent. The police have not taken much action at these protests, other than after a few people were at the top of the GRPD building and a few officers came out of the department for a few minutes during Wednesday’s protest.

But now, many in the Grand Rapids community want to see real change.

“This could have been me,” said Darius Thomas, a 35-year-old Black man from Grand Rapids, who said he was recently pulled over by a police officer who claimed Thomas was speeding.

Thomas said he was compliant during the traffic stop and asked the officer if he could speak with a sergeant. That’s when the police officer busted out his car windows. Thomas recorded the interaction with the police officer and shared it with the Advance, which confirmed his account.

After two suspects in the alleged plot to kidnap and kill Gov. Gretchen Whitmer were found not guilty last week, some Republicans in Michigan and nationwide are blaming the FBI, saying the plot was “politicized” and denying it happened altogether.

On Friday, a jury found that Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta, two of the four men, accused of conspiring to kidnap Whitmer from her vacation home in northern Michigan have been acquitted of charges. The jury did not reach a verdict on the other two and they will be retried.

While many were concerned that this verdict could set a precedent allowing for violent threats against public officials, others on the far-right saw this as a victory against what they contend was a political move orchestrated by the state government and FBI.

Republican attorney general candidate Matt DePerno tweeted Saturday that he predicted the “Whitmer kidnapping sham was entrapment by the FBI designed to create a false narrative before the election.” He made this comment just days after the news broke in October 2020 on a right-wing talk show with host Randy Bishop, a.k.a. “Trucker Randy.”

“I can’t wait to investigate this one. [Whitmer] stop shredding docs and deleting emails,” DePerno tweeted.

DePerno also shared a cartoon that depicted the FBI creating the kidnapping plot and Whitmer surrounded by a fake fire.

@Dave_Boucher1 please print this and have her autograph for me. Thanks. pic.twitter.com/pwhPaNDTaG
— Matthew S. DePerno, Esq. (@mdeperno) April 9, 2022

DePerno, who has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump, is facing former House Speaker Tom Leonard and state Rep. Ryan Berman (R-Commerce Twp.) for the GOP nomination for attorney general. The nominee will be chosen at the state convention April 23 in Grand Rapids and will then face off against Attorney General Dana Nessel in November.

Another Republican hopeful, who is vying for a seat in the state House, Robert Regan, posted on Facebook Friday that “everyone who has followed this story from the start knew this was fabricated by the tyrant in Lansing.”

Some conservatives from out of state also chimed in on the post-verdict discourse to spread conspiracy theories.

A Republican congressman from Texas, Troy Nehls, tweeted that the “media and FBI should be held accountable” for the kidnapping plot.

Dinesh D’Souza, a longtime figure in right-wing politics and podcast host, tweeted that the verdict is a “guilty verdict for the FBI on multiple counts of entrapment. These thugs with badges need to be held to account!”

Michigan Advance is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Michigan Advance maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Susan Demas for questions: info@michiganadvance.com. Follow Michigan Advance on Facebook and Twitter.