Protest at Detroit Federal Building over FBI Conduct.

A small but vocal group of demonstrators gathered on June 3 outside the Detroit office of the FBI to demand the firing of Christopher Wray, the bureau’s director.

“Wray must be fired, and the FBI must be decentralized and moved out of Washington, D.C.,” protest organizer and Trump supporter Brian Pannebecker said. “As long as the FBI and DOJ [Department of Justice] continue to illegally withhold subpoenaed evidence from Congress, we will continue to fight.”

Wray was nominated by then-President Donald Trump to succeed FBI Director James Comey, whom he fired in the summer of 2017.

When asked about that by The Epoch Times, Pannebecker said: “Yeah, Trump made some really bad appointments. He’ll know better in his next term.”

Suppressing Potential Evidence

Protesters believe that the FBI is protecting President Joe Biden by suppressing potentially incriminating evidence that allegedly links Biden to an international influence peddling scheme.

• Brian Pannebecker, a U.S. Army veteran with a son currently serving in the Army National Guard in the Middle East, said he’s outraged by what he sees as the FBI’s protecting President Joe Biden.
• “We are here today in the hope of awakening the people of Detroit, who are the victims of so much crime and violence, to the need to be rid of Wray and replace him with someone who will work for them,” he said.
• “I’m here because our government is completely corrupted,” Dana Coyne told The Epoch Times. “We are not a government of the people anymore.
• “We are a country run by globalists who do not love America and who disrespect the sovereignty of the United States.”
• John Zupanc of Macomb County said he came to downtown Detroit on a Saturday because he believes the government “is crooked and corrupt and must be held accountable.”

Wray’s Offer

Facing a contempt of Congress citation, Wray announced on June 2 that he would permit a piece of evidence subpoenaed by the House Oversight Committee to be viewed only by Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and Democratic Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.).

Wray’s move on the eve of the protest did nothing to appease the demonstrators.

“At this point, does anybody trust Wray to follow through? He has a history of stonewalling and then finally producing documents requested by Congress that are near totally redacted,” Pannebecker said.

“I feel there is a two-tiered system of justice in this country. There should not be one set of rules for the favored few and different rules for the rest of us. Government should do the right thing,” said demonstrator Angelic Johnson, of the group Faith, Education, and Commerce United of Michigan (FEC).

Protester Elisa Wagner said: “Today, our government is doing exactly what our Founding Fathers warned us about. We are living in a tyrannical time.

“All Americans must do their due diligence to protect our constitutional rights. That’s why I’m here.”

Differing Opinions

Trump flags and “Fire Wray” picket signs in the Federal Building Plaza provoked responses from passing cars, with some honking and shouting, “Go Trump!” while others yelled obscenities and “Lock him up!”

The demonstration also caught the attention of passing pedestrians.

One who stopped to listen to the protesters said, “It’s important to have differing opinions and to express them peacefully. That’s what makes America great.”