UPDATE: LAWN, W.Va. (AP) — Law enforcement officials say two people have been arrested after they were found chained to pipeline construction equipment in Greenbrier County.
Local news outlets report that the two were found Friday morning in the Dawson area secured to pipeline equipment with chains and a welded pipe.
According to the Greenbrier County Sheriff’s office, local fire department officials helped extract the pair, who were below ground level in a hole. Deputies say one individual voluntarily climbed out, while the other refused and had to be lifted out.
The two have both face charges of trespassing, obstructing an officer and conspiracy. It was not immediately known if they had an attorney.
Known as the Mountain Valley Pipeline, the project has faced various legal challenges from environmental groups because construction has led to violations of regulations meant to control erosion and sedimentation.
The 303–mile pipeline will take natural gas drilled from the Marcellus and Utica shale formations and transport it through West Virginia and Virginia.
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GREENBRIER COUNTY, WV (LOOTPRESS) – Two anonymous pipeline fighters locked down to drill tracks early this morning.
The protestors are stopping work where Mountain Valley Pipeline workers are trying to drill under highway 64 near Lewisburg. One of the protestors stated: “We have chosen resistance, and we hope that you, whoever you may be, do too—there is truly no halting a people enraged.”
The other protestor stated: “I am taking this action in solidarity with Indigenous water protectors and allies fighting Enbridge’s Line 3 up in so-called Minnesota.”
The Greenbrier County sheriffs are already on the scene.