What to Know
- Four protesters emerged from a 42-inch gas pipeline underneath the Hudson River as part of a negotiation with state police
- The quartet climbed into the pipe to protest a proposed fracked-methane pipeline near Indian Point Energy Plant
- They are expected to be charged with misdemeanor criminal trespassing; Other protesters were arrested earlier in the day
A quartet of demonstrators emerged from a 42-inch gas pipeline underneath the Hudson River on Monday night after they had climbed into it in protest of a proposed pipeline that would run from Pennsylvania to New York.
The four protesters, Rebecca Berlin, Mackenzie Wilkins, Dave Publow and Janet Gonzalez had been inside the high-pressure fracked-methane pipeline near Indian Point Energy Plant since the morning and were settling in for the night Monday, according to the Sane Energy Project.
The four of them are only expected to be charged with misdemeanor criminal trespassing because they left the pipeline Monday night as part of a negotiation with state police, although charges could change.
Video from inside the pipe earlier in the day shows the group with food, water and blankets.
Two other people helping the protesters get into the pipeline were arrested on criminal trespassing charges, and a third person had been detained under suspicion of illegal activity by association, the group said.
Gonzalez, who is from Westchester County, said she was joining in on the protest because “we imperil our future by depending on depleting finite resources.”
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“We must transition to a post carbon world with renewables,” she said. “Otherwise, we risk cooking the planet.”
Spectra Energy, which has been building the pipeline, said in a statement that it "respects the right of individuals to peaceful protest" but that the protesters were placing themselves and first responders at risk.
"We do not condone actions that take critical first responders away from their duties, thus also placing citizens dependent on their assistance at risk," the company said.
Gonzalez and her compatriots were also protesting in concert with another demonstration at the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota. More than 300 people participated in the arrest, including “Divergent” star Shailene Woodley.
Woodley was streaming video from the protests on Facebook Live and said during the broadcast that she was walking to her RV when she was grabbed by the jacket and told not to continue.
Then, when she tried to ask a question, one officer replied "We can't talk right here, but you're going to be placed under arrest for criminal trespassing, alright?”
Twenty-six other protesters at the North Dakota protest were also arrested.
