A far-left candidate running for the House of Representatives in Michigan was arrested for resisting police during a 2013 protest.
William Lawrence, co-founder of the progressive Sunrise Movement, is challenging Rep. Tom Barrett, R-Mich., in one of the most closely-watched elections in the country. With so few congressional seats still expected to be up in the air, a victory there could be decisive for whichever party wins control in November.
Fox News Digital obtained documents that show Lawrence was among a group of people arrested in 2013 during a demonstration against the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline, a 645-mile piece of infrastructure running crude oil and natural gas between Wisconsin and Ontario — with Michigan in between.
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He and others chained themselves to machinery in protest of the pipeline, which helps the U.S. meet critical energy needs but has also been a subject of pushback by environmental groups and indigenous tribes whose land the pipeline partially runs through.
The defendants were charged with trespassing, as well as resisting and obstructing a police officer. The documents stated that Lawrence and three others had to be cut off of the equipment but were then arrested without incident.
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Lawrence himself previously posted on X, “Defund the Police!” in May 2020. A tweet the following month called to defund the Lansing, Michigan, police, specifically.
He told Fox News Digital in a statement this weekend, “I don’t support defunding the police. I follow the lead of first responders and gun violence prevention advocates I have met with here in the district, who support increased funding for youth programs, mental health resources, and community violence intervention, working in collaboration with law enforcement.”
His campaign also pointed out the conviction was expunged under Michigan state law.
He’s also since addressed the arrest himself on Instagram. He said in a video earlier this year that he “took a stand” against energy company Enbridge, adding, “Was it righteous? Absolutely. Was it wise? Perhaps not.”
“The fact is, they were back operating that afternoon, while my collaborators and I faced legal consequences for years,” he said. “I wouldn’t advise you do what I did, but my conviction remains, and you can always count on me to fight for pure Michigan and our water.”
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While Lawrence was backed by progressive groups in his primary election, he has since said he’s left the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) as his general race begins to heat up.
But it did not stop House Republicans’ campaign arm, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), from tying him to the far-left.
“Socialist felon William Lawrence is a radical far-left liberal who puts his extreme climate agenda ahead of common sense and the priorities of hardworking Michiganders. Lawrence’s extreme agenda makes one thing clear: he is far too radical for Mid-Michigan and can’t be trusted to put Michigan families first,” NRCC spokesman Zach Bannon said.
Republicans are facing an uphill battle to keep control of the House this year, with the party in power traditionally facing significant losses during the midterms. But the far-left insurgency that’s gripped the Democratic Party has given the right new hope that they could buck historic political trends.
Lawrence’s upstart primary campaign saw him defeat establishment-backed candidates Matt Maasdam and Bridget Brink, the latter of whom formerly served as U.S. ambassador to Ukraine.
