It’s finally over…After fighting to block a natural gas pipeline from being constructed through family farm land on Bent Mountain in Roanoke County, Virginia, a mother-daughter protester duet came down from the treetops Saturday. The 34-day attempt was ended after a federal judge found them in contempt of court.
“I’ve got their attention…Now let’s go ahead and start the fight,” said Theresa “Red” Terry, a 61-year-old redheaded, plainspoken woman, whose candor garnered nationwide and social media attention during their time in the trees. Had she and her daughter, Theresa Minor Terry, refused to come down, they would have faced fines of $1,000 per day and potentially being forcefully removed by U.S. Marshals who have been on the scene.
According to a report from The Roanoke Times, Red found out that the fines would be going towards the company she vehemently opposes; therefore, it was a factor in her decision.
As locals heard the showdown was coming to an end, over 100 spectators, some with lawn chairs and cases of beer, gathered near the pipeline site to witness the spectacle.
Once she rappelled to the ground, Minor Terry was greeted by Roanoke County police officers who led her to a nearby tent that has served as the de facto command center for local law enforcement and Mountain Valley officials who have kept watch over the tree sits. She was handed a summons to appear in court, being charged with three misdemeanor counts: trespassing, obstruction of justice, and interfering with the property rights of Mountain Valley.
As she was reunited with friends and family members who had been waiting on the other side of the police tape, she fanned her face with the court papers and said, “We’re down from the trees, but we are not done with the fight.”
Attorneys for the pipeline company asked that the mother-daughter team be charged with blocking the tree cutting operations preceding the pipeline construction. The plans have been approved by several regulatory agencies.
U.S. District Court Judge Elizabeth Dillon, while expressing sympathy for the pipeline opponents, said her decision to find the Terrys in contempt of court was defined on the fact that the, “law must prevail over public sentiment.”
Dillion went on to quite a Supreme Court case, “If one [person] can be allowed to determine for himself [or herself] what is law, every [person] can.” The court held, “That means first chaos, then tyranny.”
Already approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, supporters of the $3.7 billion project say the pipeline will bring much-needed jobs to southwest Virginia.
As a more reliable source of energy and less harmful to the environment than coal-burning power plants, natural gas will be siphoned from Wetzel County, West Virginia to Pittsylvania County in Virginia. The natural gas will come from the Marcellus and Utica shale regions, which span from New York to West Virginia, to markets in the Mid and South Atlantic regions of the U.S.
