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Activists urge Detroit to increase inclusion of Indigenous communities
Indigenous activists are calling on Detroit leaders to address historical inequities and honor the original people who were displaced from the city. The Detroit Indigenous Peoples Alliance (DIPA) made the demands while gathered in front of the Spirit of Detroit statue on Woodward on Indigenous People’s Day on Monday. “This place here is the traditional […]
Michigan Senate Republicans pass voter ID law ‘on steroids’
The Republican-controlled Michigan Senate on Wednesday approved a controversial bill that would impose new restrictions on voting, but Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has pledged to veto any measure that makes it more difficult to vote. The Senate voted along party lines, 20-15, to implement strict voter ID requirements and prohibit election officials from sending unsolicited absentee […]
Michigan GOP initiative to restrict voting access gets approval to gather signatures
A controversial, Republican-backed petition drive to restrict voting access in Michigan gained approval Monday, clearing the way for advocates to begin collecting signatures. The Michigan Board of State Canvassers approved the Secure MI Vote petition with a 3-0 vote. Canvasser Julie Matuzak, a Democrat, was absent from the meeting. The petition is intended to enable […]
GOP gov. candidate James Craig says he supports abortion ban in secret recording
Republican gubernatorial candidate James Craig said if elected he would block any attempt by Democrats to repeal Michigan’s 90-year-old ban on abortion, according to a secret audio recording obtained by Metro Times. The former Detroit police chief made the remark Thursday while talking with supporters after his speech at a campaign kickoff event in Marquette. The […]
Alleged white supremacist accused of scouting abandoned Mich. jails for ‘hate camps’ to stand trial
A member of a militant white supremacist group who is accused of breaking into two vacant Michigan prisons to scout out new training grounds for “hate camps” is headed to trial. Tristan Webb, 19, waived his preliminary examination in a Tuscola County district court and was ordered to stand trial, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel […]
Tennis instructor accused of flashing Nazi salute at Birmingham schools meeting loses his job
Paul Marcum, who witnesses say flashed a Nazi salute and chanted “Heil Hitler” at a raucous Birmingham Board of Education meeting last week, has lost his job as a tennis instructor at the Sports Club of West Bloomfield. Marcum worked at the health and fitness club every fall but he won’t be allowed to return this year, […]
Nazi salute, insults hurled at chaotic Birmingham schools meeting over mask mandate
Police are investigating a man who flashed a Nazi salute and chanted “Heil Hitler” during a raucous Birmingham Board of Education meeting over a mask mandate for students. Unruly anti-maskers booed and hurled insults at board members and speakers, including a high school student, who spoke in favor of face coverings during the meeting Wednesday […]
Michigan’s ethnic intimidation law protects transgender people, court rules
A Michigan law that makes it a crime to intimidate people based on their gender protects transgender residents, the state Court of Appeals ruled Thursday. The ruling involves a case in which a transgender woman was shot at a gas station in July 2018. The gunman, Deonton Rogers, was charged with ethnic intimidation after police […]
Son of former Michigan lawmaker sentenced to time served for participating in Jan. 6 insurrection
An Upper Peninsula man who threatened “war everywhere if we let this election get stolen” was sentenced Wednesday to time served after spending six months in prison for his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection. Karl Dresch, 41, of Calumet, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of willfully and knowingly demonstrating in a Capitol building. […]
State Supreme Court allows Detroit charter proposal to appear on ballot
Advocates of a proposed revision to Detroit’s city charter scored a major victory Thursday after the Michigan Supreme Court ordered the controversial initiative to be placed on the Aug. 3 ballot. The panel voted 4-3 to overturn the Wayne County Circuit Court and Michigan Court of Appeals’ decision to remove the proposed revisions from the […]
Detroit City Council approves reparations measure, but challenges lie ahead
Black Detroiters moved a step closer to receiving long-awaited reparations for systemic racial discrimination, but the historic measure still faces legal and funding uncertainties. The Detroit City Council unanimously approved a resolution Wednesday that would give residents the opportunity to vote on whether the city should “establish a Reparations Committee to make recommendations for housing […]
Trump’s AG dismissed claims of election fraud in Detroit and elsewhere as ‘bulls–t’
Former U.S. Attorney General William Barr reviewed President Donald Trump’s claims of election fraud at the TCF Center in Detroit last year and concluded they were baseless, he told the Atlantic in an interview. Barr broke the news to Trump at a meeting in the White House, where the president was watching a Michigan legislative hearing on […]