Mountain Holler
17 Arrested Protesting Mountaintop Removal
May 27th, 2009
On May 23rd, 17 people were arrested in the Coal River Area in protest of mountaintop removal and coal slurry impoundments in three separate actions. This is the start of Mountain Justice Summer 2009 and the sixth in a series of Nonviolent Direct Actions against the surface mining taken by the Climate Ground Zero MovementTwo very brave young women kayaked out onto the Brushy Fork Slurry Impoundment and floated a large banner that read "No More Sludge." They were charged with trespassing and amazingly enough littering for leaving that banner floating on top of at least 7 Billion gallons of Toxic Sludge.
While those two folks were splashing around in a lake of toxic "water," 8 other people walked out onto the massive mountaintop removal mine on the remains of Kayford Mountain and 6 of them chained them locked themselves to a giant rock truck hanging a banner reading "Never Again" on the front of the truck.
Later in the day, 75 people gathered in Pettus, WV at the mouth of Marfork Hollow to rally against the existing Brushy Fork Slurry Impoundment and the planned 6450 acre mountaintop removal mine on Coal River Mountain. Seven of those people "crossed the line" onto Marfork property and were arrested for trespassing.
Those seven people and the two arrested on the Impoundment were taken to Beckley and put in jail on $2000 cash only bail, for trespassing which holds only a maximum $100 fine and no jail time. Some were bailed out, but $18000 is more than could be raised and the last 4 were let out with no bail after lawyers filed a motion on Tuesday morning.
Legendary congressman and Secretary of State, Ken Hechler came to the rally in Pettus and gave an incredible speech. He then, at age 94, walked accross the line onto Massey property, but the police refused to arrest him.
This is a song written by the grandson of Sid Moye, one of the folks arrested at Pettus, the morning after Sid was arrested: