Dec 28, 2020
Bruce Kring, the mayor of Michigan’s Potterville, was criticized on Monday for possibly inciting violence through his Facebook posts calling for “rebellion” and telling followers to “TAKE power back.” In a September 12 post, Kring shared an image that reads, “Either we TAKE power back or we will never be free again, no more asking nicely. Our founding fathers warned us. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. Can I hear an ‘AMEN’!!” In a November 13 post, Kring posted an image of wooden stocks, a form of corporal punishment and public humiliation common before the 19th century. The text alongside the image said, “Whitler’s next lockdown.” Whitler is a combination of the last names of Adolf Hitler, the Nazi leader who oversaw the murder of over 6 million Jews and Europeans, and Gretchen Whitmer, the Democratic governor of Michigan. Whitmer’s COVID-19 lockdown measures made her the target of attacks from Republican President Donald Trump, and a kidnapping and murder plot hatched by right-wing militia.