Name: Fact check: Gov. Whitmer did not encourage violence against Michiganders not wearing masks
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Fact check: Gov. Whitmer did not encourage violence against Michiganders not wearing masks

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USA TODAY The Facebook page on July 9 — the same day Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer held &nbsp;— claimed the governor encouraged violence against Michanganders not abiding by the state's mask mandate when she called on residents to "politely, but also forcefully" help enforce it.The Facebook page is the&nbsp;social media face of , a news blog&nbsp;that covers Owosso, Corunna and Shiawassee County, .In a post titled, "Whitmer encourages violence telling mask wearers, if needed, engage forcefully (to get all to wear masks)," Friends and Community News said:&nbsp;"As many know there is violence being perpetrated by mask&nbsp;wearers against those that do not wear one.""'So politely but yet forcefully'” is that like you apologize first and then try and knock some sense into a person’s head?" the post says. "What is scary is that if a person assaults you and you fear for your life, that person who listened to Whitmer and took what she said literally may end up meeting legal deadly force."Friends and Community Shiawassee County News and Views did not respond to a request for comment from USA TODAY. required&nbsp;anyone over the age of 2 who can medically tolerate face coverings to wear&nbsp;them in food-selling establishments and pharmacies. Business owners who willfully violated outlined safety measures faced a misdemeanor charge, according to the order.A&nbsp;expanded that face-covering mandate&nbsp;to indoor establishments and crowded outdoor spaces.&nbsp;All businesses open to the public must refuse entry to customers who are not complying.Customers or businesses in violation of the order&nbsp;can be charged with a misdemeanor and fined $500, .Fact check:Tiffany Brown, Whitmer's press secretary, told USA TODAY the claim about violence is "completely false.", in response to a reporter's question about implementing penalties or&nbsp;making stores and restaurants require masks for service, Whitmer said enforcement on the part of residents is key."We will do everything we can to encourage the right choices, but at the end of the day it's on all of us to do our part to educate the people around us whether it's in the store or it's in our household or it's in our neighborhood or in our workplace," Whitmer told reporters.&nbsp;"We've got to implore one another to step up and to do the right thing. And Michaganders, we're smart, we're tough. We've got to figure out how to do it politely but also forcefully because it's on all of us," Whitmer said.She also cited concerns from local business owners about staff and customer safety,&nbsp;and mentioned existing penalties for business owners who don't uphold the mask mandate."Right now we do actually have penalties under the law. The problem, of course, is making sure that we are enforcing and have compliance. And of course that relies on assistance on the local level, and I think that as we see numbers continue to rise that locals are going to get more active in assisting on this front," Whitmer said.Fact check:There have been several high-profile reports of people in Michigan attacking others over masks&nbsp;both before and after face-covering mandates went into effect.On Tuesday, Michigan police killed 43-year-old Sean Ernest Ruis after he stabbed a 77-year-old convenience store employee who approached Ruis because he wasn't wearing a mask. Ruis fled the scene&nbsp;and was later fatally shot by an officer when he threatened her with a knife,.In May,, a 43-year-old father of nine. Munerlyn, who was a security guard at a Family Dollar in Genesee County, refused entry to&nbsp;Sharmel Teague because her daughter wasn't wearing a mask. Authorities say Larry Teague later ; Teague faces first-degree murder charges.That same month, a&nbsp;Holly, Michigan, man was charged with assault and battery after wiping his nose on the shirt of a Dollar Store clerk who confronted him about&nbsp;the store's policy on wearing masks, .Whitmer denounced the violence on Wednesday when asked about deadly encounters over masks throughout the state, according to local news outlet, ."I cannot ever pretend that I understand someone who would become murderous over wearing a piece of cloth on your face,” she said. “But what I can say is that violence is never the solution."Fact check:We rate this claim FALSE because it is not supported by our research. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer did call for Michigan residents to "politely, but also forcefully" enforce the mask mandate outlined in an executive order. But it is wrong to say&nbsp;the governor was calling for others to respond with violence, as the post claims.&nbsp;Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can&nbsp;Our fact check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.

USA TODAY The Facebook page on July 9 — the same day Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer held &nbsp;— claimed the governor encouraged violence against Michanganders not abiding by the state's mask mandate when she called on residents to "politely, but also forcefully" help enforce it.The Facebook page is the&nbsp;social media face of , a news blog&nbsp;that covers Owosso, Corunna and Shiawassee County, .In a post titled, "Whitmer encourages violence telling mask wearers, if needed, engage forcefully (to get all to wear masks)," Friends and Community News said:&nbsp;"As many know there is...

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The Detroit Free Press is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the Sunday Free Press. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primarily serves Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Livingston, Washtenaw, and Monroe counties.  The Free Press is also the largest city newspaper owned by Gannett, which also publishes USA Today. The Free Press has received ten Pulitzer Prizes and four Emmy Awards. Its motto is "On Guard for 189 Years".

Fact check: Gov. Whitmer did not encourage violence against Michiganders not wearing masks

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