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(TheBlaze/AP) — Documentary filmmaker and former Flint-area resident Michael Moore has returned to his hometown to call for President Barack Obama to come see the water crisis for himself.
Image source: YouTube
Moore, surrounded on Saturday by dozens of flag-waving and sign-toting Flint residents in front of the city's municipal complex, said he must "insist" that Obama visit on Wednesday, the same day the president is scheduled to tour the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
I'm outraged at what's happening in Flint, so I wrote @BarackObama a letter. Read this & RT! https://t.co/uaPzpkapcr pic.twitter.com/aTlZ85Spxf
— Michael Moore (@MMFlint) January 16, 2016Obama on Saturday signed an emergency declaration clearing the way for federal aid and authorizing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide water, filters and other items for 90 days.
30 minutes. President Obama, this is about you. I gave you a heads up last night. Your order a few moments does not go far enough. 4pm ET
— Michael Moore (@MMFlint) January 16, 2016"President Obama, this is about you," Moore tweeted Saturday. "I gave you a heads up last night. Your order ... does not go far enough."
Moore also asked the U.S. attorney general to arrest and prosecute Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, because he "knew that toxins, pollutants, and eventually lead was leaching into the water and being sent into the taps of people's homes." On Saturday, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) called for Snyder’s resignation.
Stand with me TODAY in Flint @ 4PM -- Flint City Hall -- #ArrestGovSnyder #FlintWaterCrisis pic.twitter.com/16bjyIkrSd
— Michael Moore (@MMFlint) January 16, 2016The U.S. Justice Department is helping the Environmental Protection Agency investigate events surrounding what's been declared a public health and federal emergency situation in Flint.
Cher is donating bottled water to the residents of Flint struggling to obtain safe water amid a lead contamination crisis. The entertainer and Icelandic Water are contributing more than 181,000 bottles of water to help alleviate what she called a "tragedy of staggering proportions."
The city switched water supplies in 2014 while a new pipeline was under construction and the corrosive water from the Flint River leached lead from old pipes.
Snyder requested the federal declaration Thursday, saying needs "far exceed the state's capability." He says emergency measures could cost $41 million.
