Across Michigan, events are planned for Thursday to mark the first anniversary of the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol building.
Hundreds of people, including more than a dozen from Michigan, are facing criminal charges for their role in storming the Capitol building.
Allison Wilcox, a member of the Women of Michigan Action Network, said she’s helping to organize an event in Midland to mark the anniversary of the attack. The 4:30 p.m. gathering at the Midland County courthouse will include a candle lighting ceremony at dusk.
She said it’s important to stand against “the Big Lie” that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.
“What happened a year ago on Jan. 6 was a horrible thing for our country,” Wilcox said, “Not only did people die, but the seat of our government was attacked by ordinary people who had been misled.”
Wilcox said she is concerned American democracy is still in a "precarious" position because of people who still believe the 20-20 presidential election was stolen.
Democrat Joe Biden won the election over Republican Donald Trump. Biden won both the national popular vote and the electoral vote, and he won Michigan by more than 150,000 votes.
A year after the Jan. 6 insurrection, there is still no national consensus on the events of that day. A Quinnipiac poll found that 93% of Democrats considered it an attack on the government, but only 29% of Republicans agreed.
