Lawmakers consider making trespassing on Mackinac Bridge a felony

Under Michigan law, the Mighty Mac isn’t technically classified as critical infrastructure — and that loophole, some lawmakers say, prevents law enforcement from meting out adequate punishments to trespassers.

The Mackinac Bridge spans five miles across the Straits of Mackinac and has linked Michigan’s upper and lower peninsulas since it opened to traffic in 1957.

It’s an iconic piece of Michigan infrastructure, but under the Michigan penal code, it’s currently not designated as a “key facility.” That means a person trespassing on the bridge is not subject to a felony as they would be if they illegally entered a power plant, a water treatment facility, a railroad switching yard or other types of property deemed key facilities.

Law enforcement first discovered this loophole when a felony trespass charge was dropped against a person who climbed the bridge without permission to take photos. Two bomb threats at the bridge this summer also threw the bridge’s security into the spotlight, prompting an updated safety assessment last year.

Read more: https://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2022/01/lawmakers-consider-making-trespassing-on-mackinac-bridge-a-felony.html