PEMBROKE, Va. (AP) — A protester from West Virginia was arrested after blockading the path to a Mountain Valley Pipeline worksite, Virginia State Police said.
News outlets report that early Tuesday pipeline security staff reported the demonstration involving a disabled SUV along Doe Creek Road in Giles County.
Responding troopers found Sydney M. Browning, 28, of Whitesville attached to the interior of a 2000 Isuzu Rodeo blocking a right of way pipeline crews use, police said. The SUV had flattened tires and was painted with slogans like “Who Killed The World?” and about a dozen activists were nearby, police said. A team of specially trained troopers was dispatched to open the SUV since its doors were welded shut and its windows covered by rebar.
Appalachians Against Pipelines said the protest halted pipeline work for more than five hours. It’s the latest effort to delay construction and add cost to the 303-mile natural gas pipeline project.
“There is no doubt that unchallenged extraction and consumption are pushing our ecosystems to the brink,” Browning said in a statement shared by the group.
Browning was charged with trespassing, obstruction of justice, interfering with the property rights of another and obstructing free passage. Traffic citations were also issued.
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