Lockdowns, 25 arrests at FERC against fracking, gas export
On the 3ed of November, climate and anti-fracking activists blockaded all entrances to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission or FERC. 25 were arrested. Some of the arrests were nasty and two without legally required warning. Meanwhile, Kelly Canavan of MD locked down to a crucial piece of construction equipment in Solomons, MD,, halting work on a pier needed for the Cove Point gas export facility. Fifteen more actiivsts were arrested at another gas infrastructure blockade at Seneca Lake, NY.
Kelly Canavan originally faced 10 misdemeanor charges in MD for the Solomons lockdown. By the next day, however her charges had been reduced to a single misdemeanor count of "trespassing" and she had been released on her own recognizance. While I do not know if construction resumed there the same day, a pattern I saw at the Wal-Mart construction protests here in DC was that the workers got sent home and thus could not easily be called back after blockades were broken.
At FERC, there were three separate blockades of the main car driveway, one after the other. It was at the second driveway blockade that there were two arrests without the legally required warnings. The cops hesitated when warned about the possible legal exposure, but 25 minutes later read the required three warnings-and then proceeded to get physically rough in arresting blockaders. This segued into a blockade of First Street, backing up traffic past the driveway. As soon as the cars had U-turned and left, thit blockade was repositioned to hold the driveway again.
Meanwhile, the blockade at the rear entrance was reinforced by a contingent using lockboxes, some reinforced with steel. There was a report that these protesters were ticketed and released at the scene. Probably the cops could not beat the lockboxes and so decided to negotiate their way out of the situation.
Lockbox blockade of the back entrance to FERC
The second of three blockades of FERC's driveway. These blockades turned away many cars
A FERC employee stepping over blockaders with police assistance. Many of these incidents got a bit rough as cops got nasty in failed attempts to push blockaders back
FERC's front door under siege by anti-fracking, pro-climate activists
When other blockades were cleared, a blockade of 1st street was set up to repel FERC employees arriving by car
Shutting down construction at Solomons to stop a barge pier from being built for gas export equipment bound for the Cove Point fracked gas export project. Construction just started and already they have problems!
