SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Nine protestors were arrested after construction was successfully halted by Tar Sands Blockade. (Photo by Tar Sands Blockade)
Tar Sands Blockade: Construction Halted As Protestors Face Arrests, Pepper Spray
Day of Action on the frontlines of the fight against Keystone XL pipeline
Nov 19, 2012
One day after thousands marched on the White House to protest the expansion of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, activists on the front lines in Texas faced pepper spray and arrests Monday as they blocked pipeline construction.
According to nonviolent coalition Tar Sands Blockade, officers from the Cherokee County Sheriff's office are attempting to remove three tree sitters who formed a new blockade along the Angelina River by "suspending themselves from 50 foot pine trees with life lines anchored to heavy machinery, effectively blocking the entirety of Keystone XL's path."
The officers attempted to extract the protestors with a cherry picker when about a dozen ground supporters linked arms in front of the machine. The report continues:
The driver from the cherry picker refused to stop until they hit one of the supporters with the vehicle. In an effort to disperse the crowd, police began indiscriminately spraying people in the face with pepper spray, including a 21 year old woman from Nacogdoches and a 75 year old woman with a heart condition.
This incident was one of many confrontations during the Tar Sands Blockade's Day of Action.
At another site Monday morning, police arrested and pepper sprayed blockaders who locked themselves to heavy machinery used for construction of the pipeline route. Despite the violence, the protest was successful in shutting down construction temporarily.
Tar Sands Blockade is providing live updates on their website, which is reporting a total of nine arrests so far today.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
One day after thousands marched on the White House to protest the expansion of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, activists on the front lines in Texas faced pepper spray and arrests Monday as they blocked pipeline construction.
According to nonviolent coalition Tar Sands Blockade, officers from the Cherokee County Sheriff's office are attempting to remove three tree sitters who formed a new blockade along the Angelina River by "suspending themselves from 50 foot pine trees with life lines anchored to heavy machinery, effectively blocking the entirety of Keystone XL's path."
The officers attempted to extract the protestors with a cherry picker when about a dozen ground supporters linked arms in front of the machine. The report continues:
The driver from the cherry picker refused to stop until they hit one of the supporters with the vehicle. In an effort to disperse the crowd, police began indiscriminately spraying people in the face with pepper spray, including a 21 year old woman from Nacogdoches and a 75 year old woman with a heart condition.
This incident was one of many confrontations during the Tar Sands Blockade's Day of Action.
At another site Monday morning, police arrested and pepper sprayed blockaders who locked themselves to heavy machinery used for construction of the pipeline route. Despite the violence, the protest was successful in shutting down construction temporarily.
Tar Sands Blockade is providing live updates on their website, which is reporting a total of nine arrests so far today.
One day after thousands marched on the White House to protest the expansion of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, activists on the front lines in Texas faced pepper spray and arrests Monday as they blocked pipeline construction.
According to nonviolent coalition Tar Sands Blockade, officers from the Cherokee County Sheriff's office are attempting to remove three tree sitters who formed a new blockade along the Angelina River by "suspending themselves from 50 foot pine trees with life lines anchored to heavy machinery, effectively blocking the entirety of Keystone XL's path."
The officers attempted to extract the protestors with a cherry picker when about a dozen ground supporters linked arms in front of the machine. The report continues:
The driver from the cherry picker refused to stop until they hit one of the supporters with the vehicle. In an effort to disperse the crowd, police began indiscriminately spraying people in the face with pepper spray, including a 21 year old woman from Nacogdoches and a 75 year old woman with a heart condition.
This incident was one of many confrontations during the Tar Sands Blockade's Day of Action.
At another site Monday morning, police arrested and pepper sprayed blockaders who locked themselves to heavy machinery used for construction of the pipeline route. Despite the violence, the protest was successful in shutting down construction temporarily.
Tar Sands Blockade is providing live updates on their website, which is reporting a total of nine arrests so far today.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.