23 arrested outside Gov. McAuliffe's mansion during protest
Twenty-three people were arrested Wednesday for trespassing in front of the Executive Mansion following a peaceful, three-day protest urging Gov. Terry McAuliffe to reject a pair of proposed fracked-gas pipelines, require power companies to clean up or move coal ash ponds before closing them and pass measures to prevent rising sea levels.
“We’re fed up,” said Russell Chisholm, of Newport in Giles County. “We’re not professional activists. We’re real people who are being impacted by and care deeply about these issues. Enough that we’re willing to risk arrest to make our point.”
The protesters, organized by Chesapeake Climate Action Network, a Maryland-based nonprofit fighting global warming, totaled about 50 people on their third day of activity around the capitol grounds. About half stepped up their efforts by blocking the mansion’s entrance in hopes of sending a stronger message to McAuliffe. The group said the governor has failed to meet with them time and time again and their opposition has fallen on deaf ears.
“I am here today to remind Gov. McAuliffe that when called to serve, I did not shrug my shoulders and claim, ‘Not my job,’“ Chisholm, an Army veteran who served in Desert Storm, told the crowd. He was referencing McAuliffe’s response in a recent interview where the governor stated he could not stop the pipeline project, even if he wanted to, which is in the midst of a lengthy environmental review process by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Read more: http://www.richmond.com/news/local/city-of-richmond/article_cafcb272-51da-551c-8651-2d7b19e58525.html
