Skip to main content
Tags: US | Pipeline Protest

Al Gore's Daughter Among 23 Arrested in Pipeline Protest

Karenna and Al Gore in 2011 (Getty Images)
 

Friday, 01 July 2016 09:33 AM EDT

Former Vice President Al Gore's daughter was among 23 people arrested during a protest of a pipeline under construction.

The arrests happened Wednesday at the site of Spectra Energy's West Roxbury Lateral pipeline in Boston.

Karenna Gore was among demonstrators who tried to block construction activity on the site by lying in a trench dug for the pipeline and refusing to move until firefighters removed them, said protest group Resist the Pipeline & Stop the West Roxbury Lateral.

The group opposes the pipeline because of safety and climate change concerns.

Protesters facing trespassing and disturbing the peace charges were being arraigned Thursday.

Gore, who serves as director of the Center for Earth Ethics at the Union Theological Seminary in New York, and others facing resisting arrest charges will be arraigned Friday.

Gore said in an email that she was honored to be part of the protest "as they made the case that there are higher moral principles at stake here that merit nonviolent civil disobedience."

"The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission should be helping us transition to renewable energy like solar and wind but instead they almost always defer to the fossil fuel industry," she wrote.

Al Gore, who served as vice president under Democratic President Bill Clinton, said he was proud of his daughter.

"We are facing an existential crisis and should speed up the transition away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy and a decarbonized economy," he said through a spokeswoman.

Houston-based Spectra Energy Corp. said it does not condone actions that take first responders away from their duties.

"Our pipelines provide a vital source of reliable, affordable energy for the nation's homes, hospitals, businesses and schools. Low energy prices help everyone, particularly those least able to pay their bills," company spokesman Creighton Welch said in a statement.

The 5-mile pipeline is part of a larger, roughly $1 billion plan to expand natural gas capacity in New England.

Protesters said Buddhist, Jewish and Christian clergy members were among those charged with resisting arrest, as was noted climate change activist Tim DeChristopher, who a few years ago tried to stop drilling operations in Utah.

"We can no longer pretend like what Spectra is doing here in West Roxbury is anything other than digging a mass grave," DeChristopher said in remarks at the protest.

DeChristopher tried to thwart drilling near Utah's national parks by posing as a buyer during a 2008 government oil and gas lease auction. He served 21 months in federal prison, and his probation ended in April.

© Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


Newsfront
Former Vice President Al Gore's daughter was among 23 people arrested during a protest of a pipeline under construction.The arrests happened Wednesday at the site of Spectra Energy's West Roxbury Lateral pipeline in Boston. Karenna Gore was among demonstrators who tried to...
US, Pipeline Protest
420
2016-33-01
Friday, 01 July 2016 09:33 AM
Newsmax Media, Inc.

Sign up for Newsmax’s Daily Newsletter

Receive breaking news and original analysis - sent right to your inbox.

(Optional for Local News)
Privacy: We never share your email address.
Join the Newsmax Community
Read and Post Comments
Please review Community Guidelines before posting a comment.
 
TOP

Interest-Based Advertising | Do not sell or share my personal information

Newsmax, Moneynews, Newsmax Health, and Independent. American. are registered trademarks of Newsmax Media, Inc. Newsmax TV, and Newsmax World are trademarks of Newsmax Media, Inc.

NEWSMAX.COM
America's News Page
© Newsmax Media, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Download the Newsmax App
NEWSMAX.COM
America's News Page
© Newsmax Media, Inc.
All Rights Reserved