MEDIA COVERAGE:
CNN: Protesters arrested outside the White House
Washington Post front page: About 100 arrested in mountaintop mining protest
Huffington Post: Mass Arrests in DC: We Shall No Longer Be Crucified Upon the Cross of Coal (Jeff Biggers)
The Hill: More than 100 arrested at coal mining protest in front of the White House
DC Indymedia: Thousands march, about 100 arrested protesting mountaintop removal mining
Friends of the Earth (U.S.): Photo Coverage
It’s Getting Hot in Here: 1,000 Calls for Appalachia- Dept. of the Interior Action report
- Mountain Justice arrestees released from jail
- Rally arrives at White House- crowd is addressed and civil disobedience. Climatologist James Hansen: “We cannot enrich the experience of a few at the expense of many” before arrest with others, including Kayford Mountain, WV resident and activist Larry Gibson.
- 35+ students, Quakers, RAN members blockade flagship PNC bank in downtown D.C., Reverend Billy gives a Sermon on the Mountaintop Removed. 4 arrests so far, including Kate Rooth (Appalachian native + lead coordinator for Appalachian Voices)
- Coalfield Residents Accompanied by Demonstrators converge on DC HQ of the Army Corps of Engineers. An in-office occupation is quelled with 9 Rising Tide activists drawn out of the building. Rally circled building and two Kentucky coalfield residents are granted meeting with ACE officials.
Previous Actions from FRIDAY:
“Pepcoal” target of flash mob at Appalachia Rising!
DC Rising Tide surprised Pepco(al) customers and staff today in the Pepco(al) lobby as they burst into song criticizing Pepco(al) for their delivery of electricity from coal, including coal from Mountain Top Removal coal mining in Appalachia. In this “flash mob” event, the activists entered the customer service area in Pepco(al)’s headquarters in Washington DC and called them out for “Destroying Mountains, Destroying Communities.”
The singers also demanded that Pepco(al) stop sourcing energy generated from burning coal, particularly coal from mountaintop removal mining, use renewable energy like wind and solar instead, provide reparations to communities impacted by their power plants and by climate change, and cancel rate hikes for folks in DC.
The flash mob comes one year after DC Rising Tide initially delivered demands to Pepco at their headquarters. DC Rising Tide returned today as part of the Appalachia Rising movement to save the mountains, culminating in massive street demonstrations on Monday the 27th.
Appalachia Rising is a mass mobilization in Washington DC on September 27, 2010 calling for the abolition of mountaintop removal and surface mining. It is a culmination of the national movement against surface mining and a foundation upon which to build a pan-Appalachian movement for prosperity and justice. Coalfield citizens and organizers envision a vibrant mobilization of thousands – coalfield residents, students & youth, Christians & people of all faiths, families, celebrities, underground miners, activists, artists, and all who yearn for justice – to converge on Washington DC for a day of non-violent action and dignified civil disobedience targeting the politicians and agencies who could abolish surface mining with the stroke of a pen.