Raleigh County Prosecutor Kristen Keller said Thursday that although tree-sitters protesting at a Massey Energy strip mine in Raleigh County say they are being harassed by loud noises and bright lights, there is no probable cause for criminal prosecution.
Three protesters climbed into trees at the Beetree mine on Coal River Mountain on Jan. 21. Two are still there.
Gov. Joe Manchin met with Climate Ground Zero leaders Thursday in Charleston and then asked State Police to investigate the claims and also requested that Keller determine if Massey was breaking any law.
Although the activists acknowledge they are trespassing, they say Massey is also breaking the law by using lights, air horns and high decibel sound machines which they believe qualify as wanton endangerment.
Keller, however, said there is “no crime of wanton endangerment when a property owner makes noise that is disagreeable to the trespasser.”
“There’s been no time for anyone to conduct a thorough criminal investigation, but by discussions with the governor’s general counsel and the West Virginia State Police, at this point, there does not appear to be any probable cause for criminal prosecution,” she said.
“But of course, I will always keep my mind open.”
Activists Amber Nitchman and Eric Blevins remained in their 60-foot, tarp-covered perches Thursday despite foul weather and what they say are intimidation tactics.
Fellow protester David Aaron Smith, charged with trespassing after he descended Monday, said three sound machines set to beep at different rhythms “definitely split my brain” and caused disorientation. Ear plugs “kind of knocked the bass out,” he said, “but the high-pitched sounds were coming through clear as a bell.”
Massey declined comment on the governor’s statement, the week-old protest and the environmentalists’ claims. Spokesman Jeff Gillenwater said the company did not participate in Thursday’s meeting between Manchin and Climate Ground Zero representatives.
For the first time Thursday, the governor publicly urged both sides to respect dissenting opinions, saying “no one person’s right supersedes another’s.”
“Even if we disagree, I believe we can walk away respecting each other, but everyone — including activists and property owners — must do so within the letter of the law,” he said.
— Register-Herald reporter Michelle James and Associated Press writer Vicki Smith contributed to this report.
