MINE TRESPASS PLEAS 19 RAMPS Members Plead Guilty In Strip Mine Protest
Reported by: Bob Aaron
Videographer: Bob Aaron
Web Producer: Bob Aaron
Reported: Aug. 7, 2012 4:59 PM EDT
Updated: Aug. 7, 2012 5:31 PM EDT
EYEWITNESS ONLINE WEBCAST VIDEO C L I C K T O P L A Y
Hamlin
, Lincoln County
, West Virginia
On Tuesday, 10 of the environmental protesters who tried to shut down the Hobet Mine in Lincoln County July 28 entered guilty pleas in Lincoln County Magistrate Court.
The protesters had to walk a gauntlet of miners to get into court, but there was no trouble even in an emotional debate that pits jobs against the environment. Some of the activists had chained themselves to mining equipment during the protest.
The members of Radical Action for Mountain Peoples Survival (RAMPS) were each fined $500 for trespassing, about $160 in court costs and were ordered to stay off West Virginia mine property for a year.
Miners say the protest endangered them and the activists when an explosives truck with blasting caps and 42,000 pounds of blasting agents was taken over. Now 19 of the 20 have admitted guilt and promised to stay off mine property for a year.
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Bob Aaron
