Gov Whitmer addresses Howell Nazi demonstration: 'It's distressing'

LANSING (FOX 2) - In the wake of a Nazi demonstration in Howell, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is weighing in, and pledging to protect Michigan citizens.  

"You know, it's distressing," she said.

The City of Howell is again in the headlines. Last July some white supremacists paraded in town shouting "We love Hitler. We love Trump." They were rebuked by local officials.

Now last Saturday similar protestors showed up at the American Legion Hall where a production of the Diary of Anne Frank was underway.

While local officials have expressed their displeasure, Gov. Whitmer weighed in.

"I think that some of the rhetoric that we're seeing is really corrosive and very concerning," she said. "And you see rallies like this and how the local community was really shocked by it. It just tells you that we are wading into some concerning territory."

The governor denounced hate speech and reassures local and state residents that her job is to protect the public.

"And that's why I'm going to continue to try to make sure that Michigan residents feel safe," she said. "But you know hate speech and demonstrations to scare and intimidate fellow Americans is not something I take lightly."

This comes as the governor confronts dealing with President-elect Donald Trump's second administration in Washington DC.

"I've done this before, and will find a way to cooperate again," she said. "We have worked with a Trump administration before. We will figure out how to work with a trump white house going foward into the last two years of my term."

When asked if the Michigan State Police would cooperate with the Trump administration on the deportation of illegal immigrants, the governor did not respond.