Former lawmaker says he was pepper-sprayed at Michigan labor protest

Former Rep. Mark Schauer (D-Mich.) said he was pepper-sprayed while protesting the Michigan state legislature passing right-to-work legislation on Tuesday.

Schauer said he was outside, near the north wing of the Michigan state Capitol in Lansing, according to The Battle Creek Enquirer, when police sprayed him and fellow protesters.

"I immediately began to retreat and began to cover my eyes and my mouth," Schauer said according to the Michigan newspaper. "It was not good."

Thousands of protesters reportedly gathered around the Capitol on Tuesday in protest of the Michigan House of Representatives passing right-to-work legislation, which bars requiring employees to join unions or making non-union members pay union fees.

Schauer described the protests as nonviolent.

"It was loud but it was peaceful," he said.

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