FARMINGTON – Four people arrested during the Earth First! protest of the Kibby Wind Power Project in July 2010 will have their day in court, with a jury trial scheduled to begin Monday.
Three of the four defendants: Willow Cordes-Eklund, 27, Erik Gillard, 27, and Ana Rodriguez, 30, have been charged with failure to disperse, a Class D misdemeanor. A fourth defendant, Courtney Butcher, 26, has been charged with criminal trespass, a Class E misdemeanor. The charges stem from an incident which occurred on July 6, 2010 on the Gold Brook Road in Kibby Township.
Roughly 50 people, many attendees of the national Earth First! summer meeting at a camp in Coplin Plantation, assembled on Route 27 at the entrance of the Gold Brook Road in the early morning hours of July 6. The Kibby Project used the road to move turbine blades and other equipment to the site, still under construction at that time. Roughly 30 police officers from a number of local and state agencies strung do-not-cross tape across the entrance and waited on the other side.
At 1 p.m., protesters allegedly ran onto Route 27 from the nearby rest area they’d assembled at, blocking the road and halting a caravan of two state police cruisers, a tractor-trailer carrying a turbine blade and two traffic warning trucks. All traffic on Route 27 came to a halt as law enforcement officers quickly converged on the scene.
According to witnesses at the scene and a recent release from Earth First! members, Cordes-Eklund went under the tractor trailer truck and used a U-shaped bike lock to affix herself beneath the vehicle. Other members of the crowd were witnessed rushing the semi, with officers working to keep them away from the cab and cargo. Eventually, officers lined up shoulder to shoulder, telling the protesters to get off the travel portion of the roadway and stay on the road’s shoulder.
Some minutes later, a bolt cutter was found and two officers asked Cordes-Eklund if she would leave voluntarily. She reportedly told them no, and they responded by telling her she would be arrested. Then the bike lock was cut and Cordes-Eklund was handcuffed and charged with failing to disperse. Gilllard and Rodrigues were arrested at the tractor trailer blockade scene. Butcher was arrested after he reportedly refused to stop sitting in the middle of the Gold Brook Road’s entrance. All four were taken to the Franklin County jail.
The four will be tried by a jury. An attorney representing Gilllard, Lynne Williams of Bar Harbor, said her client’s participation in the incident was protected by his first amendment right to free speech. Calling roads and streets a “traditional open forum,” Williams termed the incident a protest, pointing out that there was no violence.
“Our position is that this is protected activity, under the first amendment, and we hope for acquittal,” she said.
Assistant District Attorney James Andrews declined to comment at this point in the proceedings.
A statement released by Earth First! members today, which included an account of the events of July 6, said that those protesting were concerned with wind development’s impact on alpine ecosystems and Kibby Project developer TransCanada’s “involvement in the practice of tar-sands oil extraction in Alberta, Canada.”
Where were these protesters from? Probably not even from the area!
No probably not from Maine they are just a bunch of IDIOTS that need to grow up and act their age not their IQ. Hope they get the book thrown at them and it costs them afortune. No slap on the wrist for them
These people must not like the hot showers or other amenities which are powered by electricity and oil. If they want to change something, start with consumption.
It doesn’t matter at all where these fellow American citizens are from, and I heartily applaud their dedication and cause even if they may have gone a bit overboard. Peaceful protests have long facilitated overdue societal change – – in our great Nation and elsewhere – – and King and Ghandi are but two important examples of standing up for what one believes (and for what’s really right/best), however difficult amidst reactionary conservatives and their nearsighted, status quo mentality.
What exactly is ‘right’? Causing Rt 27 to back up so that they can show their ignorance to the public over alternative energy? Perhaps these Eco-terrorists should hav e protested and been present at the meetings, then maybe they could have had their word in. But locking yourself to a truck that is on its way to deliver a windmill is only momentarily stalling and wasting peoples time and money. Sure LURC may not be ‘right’ but I would love to know what their alternative to windmills and oil is.
They should be able to protest all they want. What they should not do is block a private or public road. Attach themselves to a truck or car that does not belong to them. The truck driver should have driven down the road a few hunderd feet, dragging the idiot along for a ride, and then jumped out and said” OMG, I didnt know you were under there” ! This might keep other idiots from doing the same thing. They should be fined and required to pay for any lost time and production by the company involved. Of Coarse, most of these guys probably dont have a steady job, so it would be hard to get anything out of them except a moldy granola bar and a 1/2 used package of zig-zags.
Proud Vet—-well said! I wish more people would get involved and have the courage to stand up for their causes. An apathetic electorate can be the ruination of a democracy.
I too admire the activist spirit of these young folk, even if this particular action may have been, strategically, counter-productive. But I would hesitate to compare them much with Ghandhi or Dr. King, for two reasons: 1). Dr. King and many other civil disobediants spent a good bit of time in jail. They were serious people, willing to pay that price and much more. I suspect that in the present case the prospect of serious jail time was ruled out before the action was undertaken. 2). Dr. King and others often had no non-violent recourse except civil disobedience; such voting rights as they had were exercised only at great peril.
There is a kind of recreational resistance in vogue among some younger folk today which seems to have little if any effective political component. Just some weeks ago my own State Rep. held a meeting with us constituents to discuss a variety of environmental proposals snaking through the legislature. Turnout was in some ways very good, but included no one under age 40 and very few under 50. Likewise at my town’s Democratic caucus in 2008 I listened to a number of impassioned speeches about how Obama had gotten young people “excited about politics,” but few were in attendance. When it came time to choose delegates to actually carry the Town’s vote to the State convention (i.e. make it matter) an ominous silence descended. As chair I prodded two young Obama enthusiasts into being delegates only with great difficulty. I later learned that they never showed up. Probably at some demonstration. And at Town meeting — well, I’ll stop.
Meetings and conventions and such are usually a great snore — stipulated. But they are an essential, core part of the process. Not everything that’s important is interesting or enjoyable.
So look at the smiles on these protestors, then check out some photos from the civil rights demonstrations of the ’50’s and ’60’s. In the latter you will see activists with an inspiring composure and dignity. But no one looks like they’re having much fun.
“…went under the tractor trailer truck and used a U-shaped bike lock to affix herself beneath the vehicle.”
They really are showing their mentality. Hurray!!
This reader appreciates your points, Creston, but you seem slightly agist and perhaps averse to the approaches of younger citizens that may differ with our own some years ago. No one generation is “the greatest” – – all have their assets and liabilities based upon opportunities and problems of the time – – and photographs don’t tell the whole story, either. Peace.
They say they won’t compromise. How is that different from LePage and the legislature. Oh, they’re not as American!
What is there alternative to wind? Earth first what a joke! Im pretty sure old mother nature can take care of herself. Shes only been doing it without humans for how many years. Oh the arrogance!
“””RECREATIONAL PROTESTORS”””,,,,,,,,,OH BOY,,,,Looks like we’re finally getting an accurate assesment of these phony “activists”. They dont give a rats rear about anything other than being rebellious…
Oh,,,BTW,,,,,I’m a PROUD VET also.
Hi….Peace be with you…..I support the protesters last ditch effort to protect the ridgelines. Here in Vt. they are moving on building 15 sites. Often these Power Co. smooze there way to accreditation, lots of politicking.
Lets not again be controlled by these energy pirates….Lets do some planning. New tech are opening daily and some old tech has been hidden. Also biofuel using HEMP may be a way to go.