FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts: Dea Goblirsch 914-960-2197
Madison, W.Va. – EmmaKate Martin and Benjamin Bryant were arrested this morning while blockading the driveway to Massey Energy’s regional headquarters in Boone county, W.Va. Magistrate Snodgrass set their bails at $100,000 each for misdemeanor charges of trespassing, conspiracy to commit a misdemeanor, obstructing an officer, and littering.
Photos by Cheshire
Nick Martin, EmmaKate’s older brother and participant in Climate Ground Zero’s campaign of civil resistance, stated “As I hugged my little sister following her arraignment this morning, I was awed by her calmness and high spirits. I admire her courage, and her willingness to put her freedom on the line for the well being of Appalachian communities and the environment. I will worry about her constantly until she is free. My sister is my hero!”
EmmaKate Martin was perched on a platform suspended in a tripod, a structure built with rope and three log poles, and Bryant was locked to the base of a pole. Both Martin and Bryant underwent extensive non-violence training prior to their action. Their banner read “Massey, Profits Before People & Mountains, Fight Back!”
They articulated their motives and the sense of responsibility that impelled them to act in an open letter to Massey shareholders and the American public. The letter can be read at www.climategroundzero.org/openletter. Among their top concerns are mountaintop removal and the Brushy Fork Sludge Impoundment on Coal River Mountain.
Climate Ground Zero’s legal team is researching the legality of the unprecedentedly high bail and will seek legal recourse.
“Boone county is not giving these bails to simply punish EmmaKate and Ben. Boone county, and the state of West Virginia, is using high bail as an intimidation tactic to deter others from standing up for the health of communities and against mountaintop removal and Massey’s mistreatment of workers,” stated Sarah Seeds veteran non-violent activist.
There is an emerging pattern of non-violent protesters receiving heavy-handed punishment while those who use violence against them are let off the hook. On July 4, 2009, on Kayford Mountain, Adam Pauley threatened to kill families who had gathered to celebrate Independence Day at the Mountain Keepers Festival. He was not arrested, but was given a $100 fine and six months unsupervised probation when found guilty of verbal assault in a February 2010 trial brought against him by Mountain Keeper Larry Gibson. Rock Creek resident, Ruth Tucker, slapped Judy Bonds, outspoken mountaintop removal abolitionist, at a non-violent protest on June 23, 2009. She was released on personal recognizance and given a $100 fine six months after the fact. Climate Ground Zero activist, Jacqueline Quimby was recently sentenced to sixty days in jail for an act of non-violent civil disobedience at a Kanawha County mine site.
Has this discriminatory policy been discussed by any public officials, or is it an unstated policy of protecting the coal companies? Is there a “smoking gun” memo?
Well, needless to say I just spoke to Magistrate (and I say that lightly) Snodgrass and it wasn’t pretty. Oh, he sounds like a real fucking winner…you know his reasoning for the $100,000 bond…..”would you like your house to be burnt down because a fire truck had to get a person down”….OMFG….does he really think people are that fucking stupid? Okay, deep breath. I’m so angry my hands are shaking and I can’t type….BRB
He brings up a good point about the house fire….. They should’ve just had someone kick one of the legs out from under the tripod and no firetruck would’ve been needed. Now don’t forget about the injunctions that Massey Energy has against CGZ and such organizations about trespassing… That’s why the bail is so high…
Free EmmaKate Martin and Benjamin Bryant! Climate heroes!
A couple of minutes with a chainsaw would have freed up the piece of fire apparatus and the firefighters, and also the law enforcment officers tied up with the idiots. Like the Sheriff stated on tv, for someone concerned about the environment and the trees, why did they cut the timber to make this tripod device? Stupid fucking idiots, that’ all they are…………
Wow Jeff it’s pleasant to know that there are still decent gentlemen in Appalachia *rolls eyes*
photos from massey road blockage and protester removal can be seen here (go to main page for 2nd photo)
http://booneexaminer.com/clients/booneexaminer/update-photos-from-massey-road-blockage-p174.htm?twindow=Default&smenu=1&mad=No
Please delete the comment by “Jeff Frame.”
Talk about strange bedfellows, Cecil Roberts and the AFL-CIO have money invested in none other than Massey Energy all the while staging protests at Massey headquarters.
EM – You’re wonderful.
Nice bail. See how it goes. Good luck. Wonder how UMWA namely Patriot Coal( based In St. Louis Mo.) can afford to take time off? Ohhh did I let the cat out of the bag? Didn’t mean to let you know that Massey is not the only coal operator from out of state. More operations opening up, demand is wonderful, thanks!
Ben’s my cousin and my family and I couldn’t be more proud of him for standing up for what is right and what he believes in. $100K Bail— that’s a bit excessive, I think. Get them outta jail!
The UMWA protestors should be at Harris no. 1 asking why they got shut down last week for ventilation problems that they had almost a week to fix but ignored them???
Don’t expect the news media in WV to cover this much if at all. Bray Cary, President and CEO of WV Media, gives editorials that are sponsored by Friends of Coal. No-nothing talk radio host Hoppy Kerchival, is bought and paid for by Friends of Coal. In fact, guess who Don Blankenship rushed to do an interview with soon after the Big Branch disaster? Yepper!
Cecil’s hate for Mr Blakinship blinds him at times. He should have had the membership at the permit hearing in Charleston insted of Richmond Va. protesting in vain, Massey Energy. After all the hoopla, Don’s still at the helm.
“Non-Violent” does not mean Safe
Bob Bird • Wed, May 19, 2010
Stating that your actions are non-violent does not mean that they are safe or without potential harmful effects.
The recent “non-violent” protest where persons opposed to Massey Energy’s ongoing mountaintop removal mining practices blockaded the entrance to the facility is once such event.
If a person inside of the building needed an ambulance, the building caught fire or some other emergency took place – how would they get the help they need? If the protesters themselves had been injured – the same question comes into play.
The issue of the protester’s safety required the full measure of the County’s response to the event.
Boone County has limited emergency resources. Sheriff’s deputies, firefighters and other emergency responders were utilized to ensure the safe conclusion of of the protest. This tied them to the event until they were no longer needed. It prevented them from responding to any other calls that would have come in. The protest had the potential to cost Boone residents their lives and property if say a serious domestic violence situation, a fire or a car wreck had happened in that time frame.
We at the Boone Examiner support the protesters right to say whatever they wish so long as it does not call the safety of others into play. In fact, talk to us and we may report your story in our newspaper. However, “freedom of speech” is not the same as the freedom to act or freedom to disobey existing law. We do not support physically interfering with the rights of others as a means to be heard – especially when it risks others lives or personal property.
Bob Bird, editor
Boone Examiner
Note: Mr. Bird has more than thirty years experience in both emergency services and journalism. He has served as a paramedic, firefighter and emergency services educator. Similarly, his experience as a journalist, where he has functioned as a reporter, photographer and editor, reach back to the late 1970s and his work has been published around the globe.
Jeff-
First of all, thank you for FINALLY posting an appropriate comment. EmmaKate (who is not Em) does not deserve any kind of harassment, nor are here parents going to bail her out, as they are NOT wealthy, contrary to your ill-founded stereotypes.
So, the protesters would have wrought harm if someone just so happened to have had an emergency inside the HQ? Or a house was burning? To the first assertion, I maintain that Massey’s business practices harm and have actively murdered many. They are the criminals, and you would be better directing your anger at them, as they DO kill people. My response to the second assertion is that the Police Department CHOSE to call in the fire department. They were not forced.
Thank you, and I welcome your debate so long as it remains mature and civil.
Ben does not come from a wealthy family, either. Privileged maybe, he has a family that loves and supports him. He was brought up to be true to his beliefs and to be aware of and be ready to face the consequences of his actions. Ben attends college, supporting himself. He rides his bicycle to work and to school. His clothes are bought second hand and he trades for some items he needs in a free market. He loves music which is what originally brought him to the state of West Virginia. He was awed by the beauty of the mountains and dismayed at the destruction of that beauty. He VOLUNTEERED to work for an organization that raises awareness of the destructive practice of MTR. I believe we all should applaud the efforts of those who still believe in the power of the individual to affect change. Though we may not believe that non-violent protests on the property of a place of business is the way to affect that change, these young people believed that the destruction of mountain beauty and the safety of miners was worth their arrest. I hope that their bail is reduced and I hope in the end they will continue to believe that what they did was worth it.
We are quick to generalize and to judge things we know little about.
Okay this happened in Julian, WV which is what a 10 minute drive up to Hobet Mining which is the biggest MTR mine in the state better yet the USA and why don’t you guys go up there and protest? I mean afterall one MTR site is no different than the next right? I find it rather strange that this mine site is never protested and if you drive by the Hobet Mine you can see it stripped as far as the eye will see.
Cecil Roberts is not what the Union was when my dad worked, it’s just a name and may I add that UMWA was too afraid to come in here on the night of the EPA hearing in Charleston because they know who backs them 100% all the way, they should have had the A$$’ here on that night to speak out if they are so concerned about MTR and what follows, instead they let Cecil Roberts run through Virginia like a raven idoit that was about to take off preaching. His words were just a bunch of BS that people bought into. It’s a sad thing when they don’t have enough of their men and women to help them out that they have to call on “others” to come and help them out.
I am thankful for Bill Raney, THE FRIENDS OF COAL and anyone who spoke out at the EPA hearing Tuesday nite, which I must add the comment about Mollahan just made my day! And as far as someone being bought by Friends of Coal or whomever, well take a look around you, someone is being bought my someone these days which CGZ is being bought by the UNION!
First of all, I would like to say to Ben and EmmaKate….those of us who know you…and love you are very proud of you. As well as those who do not know you personally but believe in the message you were trying to get across. I have been reading all the articles and comments that have been written. I want to address one comment I have read which concerned the “garbage” that was left behind. I would like to know if the person arresting you gave you the option (and a truck) to haul the remains of your protest to jail with you.(as well as a cell to keep it in) I have come to the conclusion that the comments concerning “getting a job” were written by people who are jealous that you have the guts to stand up for what you believe in…and they do not. Ben… I love you and am behind you 100%. I have always thought (since you were little!) that you would change the world….for the better…and I continue to believe that you will.
I applaud both of you for doing what true americans do and standing up for what you believe in no matter the consequences. How quickly some forget how the miners of WV had to take arms against the coal companies and the US Government to protect themselves and their families. How quickly we forget about those killed in Buffalo creek when a cheaply constructed sludge dam gave way. How many countless others have died at the feet of our coal barons? The coal companies have been destroying lives and the environment for generations and it’s time we said no more. I’m proud to know that these two young people are using the rights that I fought and bleed to protect. God bless both of you. Semper Fi
“Non-cooperation with evil is as much a duty as cooperation with good.” – Gandhi
John:
Well said!!!!
I have sent all the young people I know notice of your plight hoping that they will show some belief in something. In my youth in the 60s I was in the streets marching. I never was arrested but sometimes wish I would have been. I’m too old now, but I applaud your efforts and strength of your belief in the good side and the abandonment of MTR. You must realize there are thousands who share your belief, but lack the conviction. The fine levied against you is ridiculous… they’re just making an example of you. This should be illegal.