Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) was silent after agitators tampered with an Enbridge pipeline following her public calls to shut it down.
Anti-energy activists appeared to trespass on Enbridge property in Tuscola County to use a pipe wrench on an emergency shutoff valve Tuesday:
BREAKING: a water protector in Michigan took action to stop oil flow on Line 5, an @Enbridge pipeline, while the band Only Lucky Once played a show nearby.
From the valve turner: “I know my life is in danger from the risk of a spill and from the contributions to climate change.” pic.twitter.com/xXCi5yl4HY
— Resist Line 3 (@ResistLine3) October 19, 2021
A singer from a band called “Only Lucky Once” jammed on a guitar nearby as an agitator in a neon vest and hard hat tampered with the equipment behind a “High Pressure Piping – High Voltage – No Trespassing” sign.
Whitmer has sparked a fight with the Canadian government after she ordered the Line 5 pipe closed, alleging it is illegally on Michigan grounds. Canada has invoked a treaty with the U.S. government claiming Whitmer has no legal authority to meddle in the agreement.
The governor even slammed Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for allowing the pipeline to continue, accusing the Canadian government of doing the “bidding of the very oil company responsible for the 2010 Kalamazoo River Oil Spill.”
One person named Lillian Ellis, whom Mlive described as “a nonbinary transgender person who goes by peatmoss,” said during the incident, “We felt our lives are in immediate peril from an oil spill. It feels like we are on the edge of global climate collapse, and we needed to take action to stop it. Out of fear for our lives we shut down Line 5.”
“So it’s up to the people to enforce the law and protect the sacred,” the agitator announced as he attempted to shut off the pipeline. “I know my life is in danger from the risk of a spill and from the contributions to climate change.”
Enbridge blasted the “criminal behavior,” WDIV reported.
“The groups involved in Tuesday’s incident claim to be protecting the environment, but they do the opposite and put safety of people at risk — including themselves, first responders and neighboring communities and landowners,” the company said in a statement.
“We take this very seriously and will support the prosecution of all those involved.”
“Maybe it wasn’t their goal to put people in danger but they literally put a whole community with a pressurized pipeline in danger of losing their lives, their livelihood and everything that they own,” state Rep. Phil Green (R-Tuscola County) told the news station.
The pipeline was once again operational a short time after the stunt.
In June, Whitmer argued the pipeline is “a dangerous threat.”
“I will not sit idle as this time bomb keeps ticking,” she said.
Previously, critics of Whitmer have slammed the governor for focusing on the pipeline, instead of the economy.
“Michiganders already face many difficult issues that have been exacerbated by Governor Whitmer, yet she remains focused on further damaging the economy by shutting down Line 5,” said Eric Ventimiglia, executive director for Michigan Rising Action. “Michigan is one of the worst in the nation in terms of economic recovery. Gov. Whitmer needs to fix the problems she caused with our economy before parading around as a foreign diplomat.”
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Cooper Moran is a reporter for The Star News Network. Follow Cooper on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Protesters” by Resist Line 3.
