This morning Nick Martin and Josh Graupera appeared before Magistrate Massie in Raleigh County Court on charges stemming from the November 21st drill rig lockdown and the January treesit on Coal River Mountain respectively.
Nick Martin locked himself to the actual drill itself, refusing to unlock, and was charged with trespassing , conspiracy, obstruction and littering. He was also accused of violating his bail agreement by failing to appear for an earlier court date; however, he never received notice of his court date due to postal service mistakes. Magistrate Massie refused to return the $2000 bail unless Martin plead guilty to trespassing and obstruction, which he did. Martin was sentenced to seven days in jail and $55 in fines for the two charges, while the conspiracy and littering charges were dropped. He began serving his sentence immediately. Martin had faced up to two and a half years in jail and thousands of dollars in fines.
Josh Graupera provided initial direct support to the treesitters on Coal River Mountain and was charged with trespassing and conspiracy. He plead guilty to both charges today and received a sentence of $100 in fines and no jail time.
Nick is one of the most caring humans I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. Hope he weathers it well and returns home sooner than expected.
Brave Ones:
Keep on struggling.
Please think harder about your blogs – they are not friendly reminders or personal page updates. They are reports from the front and they require detail. Where is Coal River Mounain? In what state will one find Raleigh County? Are there photos of the two taken into custody?
Have you ever seen the cover of The Christian Century magazine showing Daniel Berrigan in chains escorted by the grim-faced FBI agents who had just arrested him. If not, find it. Sure, it is old. Sure, it is in black and white. But the joy on one man’s face and the grim determination of the others goes perfectly with the headliner – “Which of these men is free?”
Peace and hope. Take care of Nick while he is in that hole. People should never be put in holes.
where is he being held in jail and is he allowed to have visitors?
hey em! yes he can have visitors, you have to call southern regional jail a day in advance to schedule a visit and it is a 3 person max, so give us a call first and you are more than welcome to come along with us, I believe we have open spots on sat and sun the house number is 854-7372
thanks for your support!