Michigan lawmaker, who sponsored Holocaust remembrance proposal, compares her state to Nazi Germany

DETROIT — Republican state Rep. Gina Johnsen, who once sponsored a resolution to remember the "cruel atrocities" of the Holocaust, described Michigan as Nazi Germany, at a campaign event, and accused her political opponents of being "murderers," according to a recording obtained by The Detroit News.

Johnsen, a first-term legislator from Lake Odessa, made two separate references to Nazi Germany at a Sept. 28 get-out-the-vote rally, organized by the conservative organization Turning Point Action, and with Republican state House candidate Andy Shaver of Charlotte, according to audio recorded by someone who attended. The gathering took place inside a Baptist church in the Lansing area.

At one point during the discussion, Johnsen attempted to encourage people to become involved in the 2024 campaign, saying sacrificing personal time for the political cause would be worthwhile.

“I haven’t done a garden in a few years," Johnsen told the crowd. "You know why? Michigan is falling down into the sewer. We’re in desperate times. Nazi Germany. That’s where we are guys."

Then, later in the event, she argued in favor of church leaders endorsing candidates and speaking about their political preferences for Republicans "from the pulpit."

“We cannot be the churches that played the music louder while all the Jews were hauled off to concentration camps to be exterminated," Johnsen said. "Our babies are getting exterminated. Our population is going down. We have an agenda before us that we use all sorts of euphemistic terms (to describe) like, 'Oh, they're globalists.'

"They’re murderers. They are part of the anti-Christ spirit that hates humanity because humanity reflects what? God's glory."

Johnsen didn't respond to a request for a comment. And a Republican spokesman told The News she wouldn't be providing to a statement about the remarks. Shaver, who is a pastor himself, is challenging state Rep. Angela Witwer, D-Delta Township. Shaver also didn't respond to a request for comment.

In January 2023, Johnsen sponsored the resolution in the Michigan House to declare Jan. 27, 2023, as Holocaust Remembrance Day in Michigan.

"The Holocaust was the state-sponsored systematic persecution, execution and annihilation of European Jews by the Nazi regime and its allies between 1933 and 1945," Johnsen's resolution said. "This atrocity, of more than 6 million Jews, reduced the world’s Jewish population by one-third."

Asked about Johnsen's remarks, state Rep. Noah Arbit, D-West Bloomfield, who is Jewish, said Johnsen had previously visited the Zekelman Holocaust Center with a bipartisan delegation of lawmakers. Comparing Michigan to Nazi Germany was "a shocking insult to the memory of every single Jew murdered in the Holocaust," Arbit said.

"As a Jew, and as a human being, I am offended and appalled by Johnsen’s extremist remarks that are completely inappropriate for a state representative," Arbit said. "This extremist, white Christian nationalist ideology that dovetails with noxious antisemitism is exactly what Michigan voters can expect if the Republican Party retakes the majority in the state House next month."

Democrats currently hold a narrow 56-seat majority in the 110-member state House. Every position in the House will be on the ballot in the Nov. 5 election.

Johnsen was previously the director of the Michigan House of Prayer, a facility located across the street from the Michigan Capitol, according to her state House biography. The House of Prayer's website says it's a "state gathering place for prayer and worship."

In her speech on Sept. 28, Johnsen accused "liberal" churches of telling their congregations that "abortion is compassion" and of having voter guides sponsored by the United Auto Workers and Planned Parenthood in their buildings.

"That's the liberal church, guys," Johnsen said "And we're hiding under our chairs and our tables and our pulpits pretending like we're obeying the law. We're not obeying anything but our feel good antennas."

Johnsen didn't specify which liberal churches she was talking about but she mentioned them having "rainbows everywhere" and going into "inner city Lansing" and "inner city Detroit," according to the recording of her speeches.

"Everything is legal" for church leaders when it comes to politics except for "putting a yard sign with a candidate in the church property," Johnsen advised people at the Sept. 28 event.

Community Baptist Church Pastor Timothy Warren Jackson said he remembered the event that featured Johnsen taking place at his church but he was in and out of the facility while she was there. Jackson said didn't recall hearing the lawmaker talk about the Holocaust or Nazi Germany.

“I don’t know the reference of what she was talking about," Jackson said on Monday when read a transcript of Johnsen's comments.

Asked about Johnsen's speech, state Rep. Samantha Steckloff, D-Farmington Hills, who also is Jewish, didn't criticize her Republican colleague. Johnsen had family members who hid Jews during the Holocaust, Steckloff said.

"I don't know what her intentions were, but I've become close with Rep. Johnsen and she's been a huge ally of the Jewish people," Steckloff said.

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