GILES COUNTY, Va. (WDBJ) – Around twelve people charged in connection to protests of the controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline appeared in court Tuesday.
Dozens of people from Monroe County, West Virginia to Roanoke County packed a Giles County district courtroom in support of their friends and neighbors facing charges related to the $8 billion Mountain Valley Pipeline.
The charges range from misdemeanors to non-violent felonies, all related to protestors’ efforts to halt pipeline construction or prevent drilling.
People in attendance like Maury Johnson say those charged gave a voice to people whose property was impacted by the pipeline.
“They did yeoman’s work, and many of us are very grateful for what they did. They were… they allowed the construction to be slowed down enough that we could get into court and have it heard,” said Johnson.
Originally expected to be completed in 2018, the pipeline faced years of delays, legal challenges and millions of dollars in environmental citations before finally going online in June 2024.
People like Ben James say it’s ridiculous to have people in and out of the court system for going against a big corporation when they were just trying to protect their communities and land.
“The pipeline itself is just very dangerous. It’s very large. It’s moving a lot of gas now and people were concerned about that. It’s going through National Forest, and that was just allowed for a business, seems kind of ridiculous to a lot of us,” said James.
We’re still learning the outcomes of the different charges.
The Commonwealth’s Attorney tells WDB7 they will provide an update when its available.
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