(Fmr US Rep) Mark Schauer pepper-sprayed outside Capitol (Michigan)

[alp227]

Source: Battle Creek Enquirer

Former congressman Mark Schauer said he was pepper-sprayed by police today while leading anti-right to work protesters outside the state Capitol.

Schauer said he was part of a crowd of protesters outside the Capitol’s north wing as the Michigan House was voting on controversial right-to-work measures. Schauer said police came to move the protesters away from the building. He said he tried to negotiate a line away from the Capitol that police would accept when he and “a number” of people were sprayed.

“I immediately began to retreat and began to cover my eyes and my mouth,” Schauer said. “It was not good.”

Read more: http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/article/20121211/NEWS01/312110013/Mark-Schauer-pepper-sprayed-outside-Capitol

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Schauer represented the 7th Michigan congressional district for one term (2009-11). District includes: Adrian, Battle Creek, Jackson, and western suburbs of Lansing. District has usually elected Republicans to the House but votes narrowly for Democrats for president.

[Dustlawyer]

1. Constitutional right to peaceable assembly?

[TForbster]

2. Spam deleted by SidDithers (MIR Team)

[heaven05]

3. well

shows us why police were excluded from these bills. They are nothiing but blacks shirts for rethugs and their draconian measures. As michigan goes, I would venture to say, so shall america.

[John2]

6. That is my point.

They do not have to stand with a tyrant. And to any tea partier, that claims President Obama or outsiders don't need to intefere, the state of Michigan voted for the President of the United States. We don't need a green card and neither does the President to go anywhere in the United States. The Tea Party needs to get that message.

[SoapBox]

4. As I always say...your Tax Dollars at work!

We're paying for police and then we get pepper sprayed by them and hauled off to jail.

Amazing.

[knitter4democracy]

5. What?!?! Shauer's my guy! He and his wife are pillars of the community here!

Oh no! I hope he is okay tonight.

[Lefty48197]

7. I do want to say that I thought the Michigan State Police acted very professionally today

I got into the Capitol Building and joined the protest and the chants. There were LOTS of MSP inside the building but they were all very relaxed and in a mood to joke around a bit with us. They never once tried to stop the protest and nobody ever tried to bust down the doors to the Legislative Chambers either. Outside, even after "the tent incident" the police arrived with horses and riot gear but they only spent a few minutes in the area and were mostly interested in making sure that everybody had gotten out of the tent safely and that the tea baggers were going to leave the area for their own safety. Then the police went back into the building.
Later in the day, some protesters moved to the Romney building across the street. I left just before that so I can't say what really happened there. I heard on the radio that they just dragged people away from the doors to allow egress/ingress. I did hear of two arrests in the Romney building.