UPDATE: Michigan State Police arrested Charlotte resident Michael Varrone, 48, for allegedly calling in a bomb threat to the state Capitol. No bomb was found.
UPDATE: Authorities re-opened the building at about 10 a.m.
HOLLAND (WHTC-AM/FM) — The Michigan Capitol has been shut down today, after a threat, according to Sen. Roger Victory, R-Hudsonville
He told WHTC he received a text at 7:40 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021, saying there are been a security alert and anyone in the building had to evacuate to a secure area. He called the alert “disturbing.”
He was not at the Capitol but said work had been underway there.
“Remember the State Capitol, same as in our nation’s Capitol, is the People’s House, and in the People’s House are dutifully elected officials doing work on behalf of the people,” he said. “When you have this occur, that work cannot be done. That’s highjacking our ability to do the work on the people’s behalf.”
He said he didn’t want to speculate as to the threat specifics, but said lawmakers have a lot of work to do.
“There’s a lot of passion out there. But this is not the way it can be done. This is not how our Founding Fathers formatted the system,” he said, adding that the the attack on the national Capitol and Thursday’s threat in Lansing were disheartening.
He said people have every right to protest and for their voices to be heard, “but there is a line that we cannot cross,” he said.
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