Several protestors were arrested Monday as they attempted to halt construction on the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP). Virginia State Police arrested three people in Montgomery County on Monday, after dozens of protestors gathered in opposition of the MVP.
Most protestors left when police arrived, but three people locked themselves to construction equipment and were arrested, according to a press release from state police. All three of these individuals are from out of state, police said. Their charges include obstruction and trespassing
A group called Appalachians Against Pipelines organized the protest. They said two other protesters were also arrested in Giles County in the Jefferson National Forest, atop Peters Mountain, where another MVP worksite was stopped temporarily.
Both sites are among the last stretches of the MVP. Once completed, the pipeline would run more than three hundred miles from West Virginia to Virginia.
This is the largest MVP protest event since this summer, when a Supreme Court ruling reinstated work along the pipeline route, despite several pending legal cases.
In a statement Tuesday evening, MVP spokesperson Natalie Cox called the protesters actions dangerous. "Mountain Valley strongly condemns these protesters’ blatant disregard for safety and the rule of law, and, regardless of their view of the project, these unlawful and dangerous activities must end," Cox said. "The illegal and reckless behaviors exhibited by certain protesters have served only to create unnecessary safety risks for themselves, project crew members, first responders, and our community members."
