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LANSING, MI Michigan tea party organizers expect more than 400 guests to attend a weekend PowWow in Mt. Pleasant despite challenging winter conditions and potential protests against planned speakers.

David Wells, vice president of the River City Patriots, said there maybeheightened security at the eventdue to threats targeting speakers, including Michigan Republican National Committeeman Dave Agema and retired Lt. Gen. Gerald Boykins, who now helps runthe conservative Family Research Council.

Agema has come under fire againthis week for a controversial Facebook repost of an article about African Americans in the criminal justice system. Previous posts on gays and Muslimsled some top Michigan Republicans to call for his resignation last year.

Its manufactured opposition and hate, said Wells, who defended Agema against criticismthat he argued was driven by theLGBT community. Its people who oppose family values, traditional values, and use threats and intimidation to try to manipulate politicians and what they do and say.

The pre-PowWow controversy appears to have turned off at least one group. The Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a free-marketthink tank that organizers had described as a low-level sponsor, has dropped plans to participate.

We actually never were a sponsor, said Mackinac Center spokesperson Ted ONeil. We had signed up to have an information table set up, but we decided not to do that because it was really becoming a little too much focused on politics. Well leave that to the people who are into that. We just want to focus on policy.

The PowWow, scheduled to run Friday evening and Saturday at the Soaring Eagle Casino Resort, is an annual gathering of Michigan tea party members and social conservatives.

The theme of this years eventis going on offense, an apparent reference to the tea partys ongoing battle with the traditional wing of the Republican Party.

Incoming Republican state Reps. Cindy Gamrat of Plainwell, Todd Courser of Lapeer and Gary Glenn of Midland all tea party favorites will also speak at the event.

Were sending people to Lansing. Weve been fighting for six years, said Wells. We want to take our party back from the infiltrators who refuse to follow the platform and refuse to follow the values that the party was founded on.

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Michigan tea party 'going on offense' at PowWow despite latest Dave Agema controversy