As The Whitmer Administration Focused On Persecuting Their Political Opponents, They Failed To Prosecute Michigan’s Sky-Rocketing Violent Crime
“Michiganders have a right to be safe and feel safe but the reality under Gretchen Whitmer, Dana Nessel and Jocelyn Benson is the opposite,” said Gustavo Portela, MIGOP Deputy Chief of Staff & Communications Director. “We’re seeing violent crimes, crimes against police officers, car jackings and murders on the rise all due no doubt in part to having a Governor who winks and nods at a dangerous movement that wants to defund our police and make our neighborhoods less safe as a result. It’s no wonder police organizations are endorsing Tudor Dixon and not Gretchen Whitmer. In order to return Michigan back to having safe neighborhoods we must defeat Gretchen Whitmer and her cronies.”
Sneak Peak: Carjackings Are Up 764 Percent
THE NUMBERS ARE IN AND IT’S SCARY
- Last Friday, The Michigan State Police publicly released their Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) report to the FBI which tracks crime stats and the details in their report are truly shocking:
- Violent crime in Michigan is up 12.7 percent from 2019.
- Carjackings are up from 764 percent from 2019.
- Assaults on police officers rose 31.7 percent from 2019.
- Murders are up 30 percent from 2019.
- Aggravated assaults are up 24.3 percent from 2019.
- Motor vehicle thefts are up 20.9 percent from 2019.
- State Farm insurance reported that they have seen a 492 percent increase in stolen catalytic converters.
- Grand Blanc Township Police Chief Ron Wiles: “It’s not just us, but other municipalities have caught people in the act. It’s not just one person or two people, there are teams going around not just Genesee County, but Shiawassee, Ogema, Livingston County, all in search of catalytic converters.”
- Opioid deaths continue to rise in Michigan.
- 79 percent of all drug overdose deaths in the state are from opioids.
- In 2019, there were 1,789 opioid overdose deaths in Michigan.
- In 2020, there were 2,190, opioid overdose deaths in Michigan, a 22 percent increase.
- In 2021, U.S. Customs and border protection seized 11,200 pounds of Fentanyl.
- Whitmer called for abolishing ICE.
- Whitmer line-item vetoed a provision in a bill which would have withheld funding for jurisdictions who refused to cooperate with federal law enforcement.
- Whitmer campaigned against strengthening the border wall with Mexico.
- Dana Nessel joined a federal lawsuit challenging President Trump’s decision to declare an emergency on the southern border.
- Garlin Gilchrist accused ICE agents of “threatening” lives and “endangering people in our society.”
AS CRIME ROSE, GRETCHEN WHITMER CALLED FOR DEFUNDING THE POLICE
- Whitmer supported the “spirit” of defunding the police.
- This came after rioters smashed windows, overturned a vehicle and started fires in downtown Lansing and attacked a police headquarters in Grand Rapids.
- Whitmer told protesters who were defying the law “I’m with you.”
- After the riots began, the Whitmer Administration began launching retroactive investigations into police.
- In 2021, the Lansing Police Chief resigned citing political tensions after the 2020 riots.
- This came after rioters smashed windows, overturned a vehicle and started fires in downtown Lansing and attacked a police headquarters in Grand Rapids.
- Whitmer cut $13 million in funding for the Michigan State Police’s secondary road program to combat drunk driving in rural Michigan.
- In 2018, 5,667 criminal arrests including 1,183 impaired drivers were made due to the secondary road program.
- Whitmer’s task force on jail and pretrial incarceration, which was co-chaired by Garlin Gilchrist, recommended that criminals are to be “presumptively” imposed sentences other than jail.
- Gilchrist criticized cash bail.
GARLIN GILCHRIST DISPARAGED FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AND DEFENDED A MURDERER
- Garlin Gilchrist repeatedly disparaged law enforcement.
- Gilchrist accused ICE agents of “threatening” lives and “endangering people in our society.”
- Gilchrist questioned the legitimacy of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
- Gilchrist accused law enforcement of torture by comparing tasers to waterboarding.
- Gilchrist stood up for a four-time convicted murderer and co-founder of the crips saying he should be spared the death penalty because he is a “great leader.”
- Stanley Williams, who Gilchrist called a “great leader” and a fellow “SuperSpade” was a co-founder of the Crips gang and was convicted of killing four people in two armed robberies.
DANA NESSEL FOCUSED ON PERSECUTING HER POLITICAL ENEMIES
- On Tuesday, The Michigan Supreme Court rejected Nessel’s refusal to use a “taint team” to independently review documents she seized in a clear violation of attorney-client privilege.
- Rick Snyder requested a taint team in January 2021 after alleging some of the documents seized were protected.
- Nessel’s office then leaked Snyder’s confidential bankruptcy records.
- Nessel has spent $53 million persecuting Snyder.
- The Detroit News: Whitmer’s prosecution only “hangs by a thread.”
- Earlier this year, Dana Nessel was admonished by the Michigan Supreme Court for unconstitutionally prosecuting Snyder using the uncommon one-man jury to indict.
- Last year, Nessel criminally charged former Governor Rick Snyder and several members of his administration over their handling of the Flint Water Crisis.
- Nessel used a rare “one-person grand jury” procedure that is extremely rate in Michigan courts that the Detroit Free Press described as a process “cloaked in secrecy.”
- Republican leadership has not called on Whitmer to be charged for ignoring Benton Harbor’s water crisis for three years.
- It’s not just Snyder, Dana Nessel has been abusing her office to go after virtually all their political opponents.
- Just after taking office, Nessel enlisted the Southern Poverty Law Center to create justification to go after “hate groups” even if they commit no crimes or civil infractions.
- The Southern Poverty Law Center often mislabels mainstream conservative organizations as hate groups to create a justification for political actors to target them.
- In 2022, Nessel announced on MSNBC that she wanted to charge those whose name was on an alternate list of electors to the electoral college.
- This includes Michigan Republican Party Co-Chair Meshawn Maddock.
- In 2021, Nessel sought sanctions against lawyers who filed lawsuits in support of President Trump’s election challenge.
- In 2020, Nessel launched an investigation into Michigan GOP Chairman Ron Weiser just to admit months later there was no evidence that Weiser committed a crime.
- In 2020, Nessel opened up a criminal probe against Unlock Michigan the same week they completed a signature campaign to curtail Whitmer’s emergency powers.
- Nessel later quietly dropped the case.
- In 2020, Nessel personally intervened to have a pizza shop owner arrested after she learned the owner was about to go on Fox News while her office was monitoring her social media accounts and ordered her staff to have her locked up for the 93-days – the maximum she could seek.
- In 2020, Nessel retaliated against a barbershop in Owosso by revoking his businesses licenses after he successfully sued to remain open.
- Just after taking office, Nessel enlisted the Southern Poverty Law Center to create justification to go after “hate groups” even if they commit no crimes or civil infractions.