Protesters, police tangle at state Capitol

Tensions flared Tuesday across the lawn of Michigan's Capitol, as scores of police used batons to push protesters away from the building, and demonstrators pushed back and screamed expletives at police.

But the day -- which got going in earnest about 8:30 a.m. as 12,000 union activists descended on the grounds -- ended peacefully. By 5 p.m., much of the crowd had left and State Police took their riot helmets back to their posts.

There were three protesters arrested during the day -- all on misdemeanor charges. Police used pepper spray in several spots. Union activists tore down a tent belonging to right-to-work supporters.

The biggest flash points came in the early afternoon.

On one side of the Capitol, protesters banged upside-down 5-gallon buckets as drums. They held signs that said, "Our shameless nerd" and, "Big shocker Snyder lied."

As thousands of people got to the building, mounted police rode into the crowd and used the bodies of their horses to push the crowd back. The crowd booed and screamed at police. At least one water bottle flew out of the crowd and landed behind the police line.

Ryan Knight of Ann Arbor was among those near the front. He got pushed back by a horse, which he said also stepped on him.

"This was a peaceful protest," he said, holding a protest sign. "I don't know why they decided to do that."

Knight said that he is not a member of a union, but came to support them.

The next flash point came about 1:30 p.m., when a double line of about 30 state troopers marched from the back of the Capitol, across the lawn, and across the street to the Romney Building, where Gov. Rick Snyder has offices. Police pushed a crowd of several hundred people away from the windows.

At least one man was shoved down by police, but was quickly helped up. The crowd of protesters got up in the faces of the troopers, screaming at them for not being on their side.

As the first right-to-work bill was being passed inside the Capitol by the state House, protesters outside jeered at the news. They began to scream and shout in opposition, prompting a large contingent of State Police troopers to form a line in front of mounted police and begin pushing the crowd back from the Capitol steps, drawing even louder complaints from protesters.

Chants of, "Shame on you!" could be heard across the Capitol lawn.

More State Police began arriving, and about 10 mounted officers and more than 40 other state troopers stood two deep near the Capitol steps. Some of the officers on the edges of the crowd carried tear gas.

It was a crowd that at one point tore down a tent being occupied by Americans for Prosperity, a pro right-to-work group. State Police troopers went onto the lawn as the tent came down and a couple of people said they escaped in the nick of time without being trapped under the tent when it collapsed.

As people tore down the tent, protesters yelled, "Tear it down! Tear it down!"

The dismantling came after a verbal skirmish between the two sides.

"Keep your hands off other people's stuff," one of the pro right-to-work activists said as some in the crowd started pulling at the tent. "Keep your hands off my money," a protester yelled back.

About 2:30 p.m., a stream of protesters who had been holed up inside the Capitol all day started filing out. Among them was Dale Smith of Lapeer, who arrived at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday. He said he was frustrated that the legislation was "being shoveled through."

"These are good, working-class people out here. I felt I had to be here," he said.

Joe Eckenswiller of Riley said the stage was set long before last week, when Snyder announced that right-to-work was on his agenda, after saying the last two years that it was not.

"The governor knew he was going to sign this two years ago," Eckenswiller said.

Both men are members of the Operating Engineers 324. They said the fight isn't over.

A large pro-union rally was held about 10 a.m. in front of Lansing's City Hall, as giant loudspeakers boomed the speakers' voices across the Capitol lawn. Among the speakers was UAW President Bob King.

"Unions built the middle class of America," he said. "This is a national attack. These folks want to shift more and more of the wealth to a smaller and smaller group of people."

Led by three police officers on motorcycles, hundreds of union workers and activists marched from the Lansing Center to the Capitol building, chanting, "Hey, hey! Ho, ho! Right-to-work has got to go!"

Among those who had streamed into the Lansing Center before the march: a bearded man in a Santa suit carrying a sign declaring the "GOP stole Christmas."

When the group arrived at the Capitol, they were greeted by a crowd of thousands who had already settled upon the Capitol lawn, shouting, singing and pumping their fists.

Union members hoisted a large inflatable rat to the top of the Capitol steps, dubbing it the "Snyder rat."

Ray Litt was standing on the sidelines outside the Capitol, holding a sign reading: "Gov. Snyder, Shame on You for Caving to the Right."

Litt, owner of Litt Electrics in Detroit and a longtime union member and supporter, said the legislation attempts to undo all "the wonderful, positive things unions have done for people."

He said he belonged to a union for many years, and when he opened his business, he hired union workers. He and others talked about their disappointment that Michigan lawmakers pushed to approve the legislation during the lame-duck session.

"I hope lawmakers will recognize the need to have a process that involves the people," Litt said. "When 2014 rolls around, this kind of action will be met with a real response."