Trump tweets LIBERATE MICHIGAN LIBERATE MINNESOTA LIBERATE VIRGINIA

On the morning of April 17, 2020, President Trump posts three all-caps tweets calling on residents to "liberate" states governed by Democrats who had issued stay-at-home orders during the COVID-19 pandemic: "LIBERATE MINNESOTA!" at 11:21 AM, "LIBERATE MICHIGAN!" one minute later, and "LIBERATE VIRGINIA, and save your great 2nd Amendment. It is under siege!" The tweets come as armed protesters begin gathering at state capitols, including Michigan's, in response to pandemic restrictions. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D) and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D) are the targets. Washington Governor Jay Inslee (D) says: "The president is fomenting domestic rebellion and spreading lies even while his own administration says the virus is real and is deadly." The Virginia tweet explicitly references gun rights, interpreted as encouragement for armed protest against Democratic gun control legislation. The Michigan "LIBERATE" tweet is directly cited by FBI investigators in the October 2020 affidavit related to the plot to kidnap Governor Whitmer as contributing to the anti-Whitmer radicalization of the Wolverine Watchmen militia group.