Michigan AG Calls Demonstrators Opposed To Enbridge Pipeline 'Thugs' As Group Protests Near Schuette Home

MIDLAND (WWJ) - Dozens of demonstrators descended on the home of State Attorney General Bill Schuette in Midland Wednesday.

"Earth First!" hung a banner on the lawn opposing the Enbridge pipeline that runs across the Straits of Mackinac and held a mock funeral for the oil company. Schuette claims his home was besieged by so-called "thugs," who frightened his wife.

"This afternoon the Schuette's home in Midland was attacked by a mob of about 40 people as the attorney general's wife was home alone," read a statement from the Attorney General's office.

The group was calling for the end of Pipeline 5, claiming the Enbridge pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac is poisoning the Great Lakes.

The protesters say they were unjustly harassed by police when about 20 squad cars filled with police arrived at Schuette's residence.

In July 2010, an Enbridge pipeline spill released more than 800,000 gallons of oil from a broken pipeline. It spoiled approximately 40 miles of the Kalamazoo River and Talmadge Creek.