Statements made by Attorney General (AG) Schuette’s spokeswoman Bitely stating that Earth First! and MICATS were trying to “break down” the AG’s residence door and “attacking” the home are not true. It is obvious that these statements were made to deliberately mislead the public in an attempt to make the Attorney General look like the victim when in reality the victims are those living along Line 5 who are living under constant danger by Schuette’s inaction. The police arrived at Attorney General Schuette’s home within minutes of our arrival and stayed with the demonstrators the entire time. We knocked on the AG’s door as we arrived, which nobody answered and carried out our demonstration on the sidewalk. A trumpet and accordions were played, and some danced on his lawn.
We handed out informational sheets about Line 5 to neighbors, who told us that no one was home at the residence. We left a banner demanding “Shut Down Line 5” which was hung from two trees, “Pipelines spill” was spelled with chocolate syrup, and glitter was scattered around the property. We put up cardboard tombstones saying “RIP Great Lakes Wildlife” and other statements you can see in the video. There was music, dancing children, and chants holding the AG responsible for his inaction to protect the Great Lakes. With many cops at the residence, forty demonstrators, and no arrests, we felt our strong statement was made. Mischaracterizing the demonstration as an “attack” is in reality just an attack on those calling out Schuette for not taking action to shut down the pipeline.
Video of the Demonstration:
Schuette is directly responsible for the ticking time bomb beneath the Great Lakes. The AG has had ample time to shut down Line 5. As Schuette continues to drag his feet we can only ask nicely so many times. Apparently Schuette is going to keep hiding the fact that he is personally responsible by slandering the people who showed up to the home demo. It is irresponsible and dishonest to mischaracterize the demonstration and flat-out lie about the actions taken. Schuette has proved he is irresponsible in regards to Line 5 and dishonest in regards to relaying facts to the public.
[For more information read the original press release.]