William Null (right) and his twin brother Michael Null (left) who were acquitted of charges related to the 2020 plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer speak at a a Second Amendment March event outside the Michigan Capitol Building on Sept. 19, 2024. | Photo: Anna Liz Nichols
Under Democratic leadership, the Michigan Legislature has passed sweeping changes in the last two years to the state’s gun laws and Republican lawmakers and Second Amendment supporters gathered outside the state Capitol building Thursday to say, “No more.”
At the event, William Null announced he’d try to run for governor of Michigan in 2026. Null was acquitted in September 2023 after being charged by the state for the 2020 plot to kidnap and execute Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Null and his twin brother, Michael Null, were among the 14 men charged in October 2020, nine of whom were convicted on charges related to the plot.
William Null, the founder of Michigan Liberty Militia, told the crowd that he and his brother were only ever interested in building rapport amongst other militias and law enforcement. He reiterated the baseless right-wing conspiracy theory that the prosecution for the kidnapping plot was a sham manufactured by Democrats to score political points.
“We were set up for a crime that we never even committed, we weren’t even actually a part of. We didn’t even know the people involved until after we went to court,” William Null said. “These people are evil. They set people up just to put the fire out. The truth of the matter is, is [Michigan Attorney General] Dana Nessel, Gretchen Whitmer, the FBI, and some state police, conspired together to kidnap the governor of Michigan, and then they used us for the October surprise to help sway an election in 2020.”
After the charges were announced in October 2020, Nessel issued a statement detailing the plot.
“There has been a disturbing increase in anti-government rhetoric and the re-emergence of groups that embrace extremist ideologies,” Nessel said. “These groups often seek to recruit new members by seizing on a moment of civil unrest and using it to advance their agenda of self-reliance and armed resistance. This is more than just political disagreement or passionate advocacy, some of these groups’ mission is simply to create chaos and inflict harm upon others.”
Government ought to be accountable to the people, William Null said, joined by Michael Null on the Capitol steps as the 150-person crowd cheered. Republican lawmakers echoed similar concerns for accountability and preservation of rights throughout the event.
It gets lonely in Lansing as Democrats have used their partisan majority over the last two years to pass a host of laws without Republican support, state Rep. Angela Rigas (R-Caledonia) told the crowd.
“You need to show up here when we have session, we need you. It is so disheartening when we’re taking on these terrible bills and having to take these awful votes, and we look to the gallery and there’s no one,” Rigas said. “We need you to be here. … Reach out to your representatives, reach out to the speaker’s house, tell them we will not put up with any more gun legislation passing through the House of Representatives and the Senate in Michigan.”
One year after the deadly mass shooting on Michigan State University’s East Lansing campus, several gun reforms went into effect on Feb. 13, 2024. Michigan implemented three major gun reform policies: a “red flag” law, universal background checks and safe storage requirements.
The safe storage portion of the legislation requires gun owners to lock unattended weapons either in some sort of lock box or with a locking device like trigger lock if the firearm could reasonably become accessible to a minor. Firearms need to be stored unloaded, as well. The penalties for noncompliance range from a misdemeanor up to a 15-year prison sentence if a minor detonates the weapon and kills someone.
The “red flag” law permit a judge to issue an extreme risk protection order (ERPO) to order all firearms to be confiscated from individuals who pose a threat to themselves or others. The laws outline the process for eligibility and penalties for non compliance.
Michigan also now requires universal background checks for any firearms purchase in the state.
Michiganders’ Second Amendment rights have been attacked in the last two years, Rep. Phil Green (R-Millington) told the crowd. Although House Republicans are on the same side to protect the right to bear arms, there is a need for better unity to work with those in the party to protect rights even if the person is “messy,” he said.
“Those of us in the Legislature are walking through that swamp right now. There are times when our shoes fall off. There are times when we fall in. We’re in the muck. We have mud all over us and sometimes we look at the rest of our teammates, and the teammates are going, ‘Man, do I want to associate with somebody that’s got all of those issues? They’re all dirty. They’re all messy,’” Green said.
“Sometimes teammates decide that, ‘No, we don’t want their dirt.’ Here’s what I would ask of you, even though some of us in the Legislature may not be touting and jumping up and down yelling and screaming, we’re doing our best to navigate that swamp to protect each and every one of our Second Amendment rights. What we would ask is that you remember we’re on the same team with you.”
It’s hard to fight for Second Amendment rights, Rep. Jay DeBoyer (R-Clay) said. Voicing pro-gun opinions can result in threats, intimidation and retaliation.
“We’ve been told we’re the problem. We’ve been told we’re the threat. Well, the only thing we want to do is preserve our freedoms, protect our liberties and provide a safe home environment for our families,” Deboyer said.
The politicians that advocate for gun control are the same ones that “promote the destruction of the family,” “promote breakdowns of morals” and “promote wide-open borders,” Deboyer said.
“I get a little grin on my face when I hear the stories of God-fearing loving Americans who protect their families using a firearm against the criminals, the drug addicts, the evil people who want nothing more than to destroy your pursuit of happiness,” Deboyer said. “These people who profess to be experts, the ones that say things like, ‘if we could just get rid of the guns, we would be safer.’ What a bunch of hypocrites.”
Gun ownership means safety for women and people of color, Antonia Cover, founder of Empowered 2A told the Michigan Advance. Empowered 2A is a group advocating for women’s Second Amendment rights and Cover said gun ownership needs a rebrand.
“We want to empower women and help change the narrative that people continually think that because you’re a Second Amendment advocate that you’re white male. The demographic is changing,” Cover said, noting that Black women, like herself, in recent years have become a growing demographic in gun ownership.
Black women have historically utilized Second Amendment rights to protect against oppressors, Cover remarked pointing at journalist and civil rights leader Ida B. Wells owning a pistol to protect against lynching and abolitionist Harriet Tubman carrying a pistol as she led hundreds of slaves through the underground railroad to freedom.
Gun rights are for all people, Cover said, but they especially empower women as they are so often the victims of different forms of abuse. And as data reflects that more than half of all intimate partner homicides involve a firearm, Cover said it’s important to note that women have traditionally not been empowered to become educated on firearms or to become confident owners and it’s important to help women fight back.
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