Armed with rifles, tactical gear and floral attire, a handful of self-identified “heron boys” staged a demonstration outside the Capitol in Lansing, under the supervision of police and the Michigan National Guard.
Timothy Tigg, 22, said the January 17 event was planned for weeks, but most participants came out after the FBI bulletin’s warning news broke, with groups planning to attack capitals across the country. About 20 members of the “Bugloo” movement answered questions from the media and stood around Capital Lane for several hours before leaving without incident.
Researchers looking at extremist groups have found “bugle boys” to be disgusting with the government and the US. Describes as a loosely connected network of activists with the feeling of leading a violent civil war.
By 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, most of the group known as the ‘Bagulo Boys’ had left the state capital. Only a small group of protesters remained. Michigan State Police Lt. Michael Shaw said no arrests were made Sunday.
In an attempt to overthrow the presidential election, the U.K. Michigan State Police stepped up security at the state capital last week after a mob broke into the capital. The FBI is coordinating with local police to respond to threats linked to the January 20 inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.
The Michigan Legislature will not meet next week due to “credible threats” of violence. Due to the bomb threat and intimidation, Washington D.C. The legislature closed on the second day after the January 6 riots, when Michigan voters cast their ballots for Biden on December 14, 2020.
Tigan, who carried an AR-15 and six rounds of ammunition on his chest, said the rally was to create a platform for people from the political spectrum to discuss their views.
“We don’t want a civil war at all,” Tigg said. “I see peaceful revolution, keyword peaceful. I do not want bloodshed in my country. I can’t see our cities torn and burning and people dying. I think one of the best ways to do this is to stand up for everyone’s rights, whether you agree with them or not. “
Still, Tiggen said members of the Buglu movement see the civil war as “encroaching on inevitability.”
Less than a block away, armed National Guard vehicles were parked in a line on the west side of the Capitol Building. Uniformed Michigan State police patrolled the downtown streets, and at least two helicopters could be seen flying overhead.
The show said the police presence is accompanied by other “unseen measures” around downtown Lensing.
Several others present at the event declined to share their names with MLive reporters. Some said they were contacted by the FBI earlier in the day.
Eric Spencer, a 49-year-old Ingam County resident, is not affiliated with the Booglu Group. He is a Trump supporter who visited the Capitol to investigate the demonstration, saying people have had the opportunity to mislead Republicans as “violent criminals and terrorists.”
“They’ve flipped the script,” Spencer said. “It is not right to have a storm in the capital or business and burn down buildings. That is why we are a democratic country. ”
Spencer said the event was scheduled for Jan. 6 and that it was “not the president’s speech that provoked him because it would happen regardless.”
The lack of protesters surprised Spencer, who said people may have thought it was set up by far-left groups. He puts himself at the center of the political spectrum, although he supports Trump. Spencer does not believe recent events will affect the number of people supporting the Republican Party.
“You can’t get your message across when you behave violently,” Spencer said. “I’m not here for a military rally, I’m not interested in it because it’s just a show of force that won’t solve anything until you get into the Civil War.”
Another member of the Michigan-based Bugle movement, who misrepresented himself to reporters, identified himself as a Maryland man who was killed by police during a knockout raid last year. The man, who said he belonged to Flint, complained about the election, COVID-19 orders and “tyranny” in government.
The Flint man carried an AR-15 and a Glock handgun. He said he understands why people are afraid of gun-wielding protesters, but he said he sees a role like the police in the responsibility to keep incidents safe.
“Just because they have this badge doesn’t make them different from me.”
Curious about the protests, Lanting resident Huntho Longo (0) visited the Capitol on Sunday. Longo said he could not guarantee that the presidential election was fair, but he did not agree with the tactics of the “rebels” who stormed the Capitol earlier this month.
Longo carried a pepper spray in his jacket pocket. He said he understands why people might be concerned about the possibility of political violence.
“No one talks, that’s the point,” he said.
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