The pipeline fighter who barricaded themself inside the Mountain Valley Pipeline this morning has been extracted, arrested, and bailed out of jail. They were charged with two misdemeanors (trespassing, obstruction) and two felonies (threats of terrorist acts, property destruction).
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We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: blockades and lock downs are not terrorism! The unfounded, trumped-up charges that the state is bringing against this peaceful protester are an extreme attempt to silence resistance to this disastrous project.
As today’s pipeline fighter stated, “The terrorism I see is hidden in plain sight. Is a pipeline carrying explosives through your front yard not terrorism? What about the ongoing eradication of non-human species? Or the creation of a planet that is uninhabitable? What about the police occupations of poor, black, and brown neighborhoods, and the military occupations around the world? The millions of humans who are locked in cages? The need to sell our labor to survive? The surveillance and commodification of everyday life? Those with limited imagination say this subtler terrorism keeps us safe. Yet, at best, it leaves us isolated, anxious, and depressed. At worst, it leaves us dead.”
The anonymous pipeline fighter was extracted before 10 am this morning after spending over 3 hours blocking construction and welding from their place locked within the pipe. Another supporter was detained by police, driven off site and released without charges.
Neal Laferriere of Blackberry Springs Farm and Blackberry Botanicals, an affected land and small business owner from Summers County, WV, stated the following in support of today’s direct action: “We have discovered the hard way that the agencies and organizations put in place to protect us spend most of their resources ensuring that the projects that are polluting our waters, our air, and ruining our farms, can be completed. This leave us with only one option: to stand up for our families, our neighbors, and our communities via peaceful protests and direct actions. This is the only option we have left. We have to stand up, or we just get run over.”
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