Michigan utility helped sabotage Covid lockdown, internal documents reveal

New court documents reveal that Michigan-based power utility DTE Energy secretly contributed $100,000 to a dark money nonprofit that played a key role in undermining Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s Covid lockdown policies.

The revelation directly contradicts multiple public statements made by DTE, which previously denied any financial involvement with the campaign to repeal the governor’s emergency powers.

In 2023, The Guardian reported that a DTE-linked nonprofit backed “Unlock Michigan,” a Republican-supported movement that successfully overturned Whitmer’s emergency authority during the pandemic.

At the time, DTE spokesperson Peter Ternes twice issued strong denials, stating the company “unequivocally” did not fund the campaign. However, newly disclosed emails tell a different story — showing a DTE employee coordinated the $100,000 donation, which was explicitly described as a “DTE donation” and a “$100,000 DTE check” in communications between the nonprofit and Unlock Michigan leaders.

The findings raise serious concerns about corporate transparency, dark money influence, and the undermining of public health policies during a national crisis.