An armed former prison inmate led a “peaceful protest” in Lansing, Michigan in recent days for “civil rights.” In reality, the “Free People of Lansing” obstructed traffic and brandished firearms against motorists while police looked on from nearby. Inaction by the local police should surely raise questions aplenty for both local residents and people nationwide.
Paul Birdsong led the Black Lives Matter protest, one of his daily outings since the George Floyd killing, with a GLOCK on his hip and a bullhorn in front of his pie hole. The Lansing City Pulse recently profiled Birdsong:
Paul Birdsong didn’t plan to attend last Sunday’s protest in response to the police murder of George Floyd.
A week later, Birdsong, 34, has emerged as a vital and unyielding voice in Lansing, leading hundreds in peaceful daily protests at the state Capitol and facing off with Mayor Andy Schor on the mayor’s doorstep. He draws proudly upon the principles of Malcolm X in the town where he grew up and got his first taste of racist brutality more than 90 years ago…
Like Malcolm X, Birdsong pulled himself out of a rough life on the streets of Lansing and in prison. When he was younger, he joined the Bloods, a primarily black street gang founded in Los Angeles. He was the self-admitted “runt” of his gang.
“I was a little, skinny kid, but they all followed behind me. By the time I got locked up, I ran where I was at. I wasn’t all super huge,” he explained. “I don’t know why, man, but since I was a kid, people have gravitated towards me and followed me.”
Birdsong described his younger self as mean, violent and hating everything around him. To make it worse, his dad instilled a “fight-fight-fight” attitude in him. Eventually, he racked up four different inmate ID numbers.
Four different trips to prison and he’s open carrying a GLOCK, unchallenged by police.
Watch the video excerpt from a Facebook Live broadcast from June 17th.
Why aren’t the police dispersing this group obstructing traffic? Why are police allowing members of the “Free People of Lansing” to not only obstruct traffic, but to menace others by pointing their guns at motorists who simply wish to drive through?
Clearly the police in Lansing have orders not to engage.
How long will incidents like this continue across America before real bloodshed occurs? Or are we simply witnessing the end of law and order in America’s cities?