Heather Bell
MONTGOMERY COUNTY – A California woman was arrested Saturday after locking herself to construction equipment at a work site for the Mountain Valley pipeline in Montgomery County.
“On Saturday, August 26 at 7:43 a.m. the Virginia State Police was contacted by MVP Security in reference to protesters at a worksite on Bradshaw Road in Montgomery County,” said Sgt. Richard Garletts of the Virginia State Police. “One protester was attached with a “Sleeping Dragon” to a piece of work equipment. State police arrested and removed the 22-year-old female, and the device, from the equipment.”
Rachel Elizabeth Elliott, 22, of Monticello, Calif. was charged with obstructing the free passage of others, a Class One misdemeanor.
According to Garletts, there were approximately 25 protesters at the location who “were not violating any laws.”
“Most of the protesters left the scene when law enforcement arrived,” said Garletts.
Appalachians Against Pipelines released a statement following the incident.
“A pipeline fighter locked herself to construction equipment at a Mountain Valley Pipeline work site in eastern Montgomery County where MVP is preparing to bore under Bradshaw Creek and Road,” the statement read. “Nearby, a rally of nearly 30 people gathered to show their support for the protest. Folks held signs with slogans such as, “No MVP Destruction Zone,” “Protect Our Water,” and “Water You Doing?” Folks have been disrupting MVP construction regularly since construction restarted on July 5. Many protests have happened on nearby Poor Mountain, where the Yellow Finch Treesits protected some of the last standing trees in the MVP’s path for two and a half years from 2018-2021. At least a dozen work stoppages have occurred since work restarted, including walk-ons, rallies and two other lockdown protests.”
Elliott also released a statement about the incident.
“I wouldn’t have done this a month ago. I came in as a friend, an ally from another state with no concrete connection to this fight,” said Elliott. “But you can’t spend time here without falling in love with the people and the place. You can’t come here and ignore the pain that this pipeline has caused. Ponds have dried up, livestock have died, family lands have been abandoned because people can’t look out their windows without being reminded of the destruction being forced on them by corporations and politicians that don’t care if they live or die. Without wondering if today’s the day that the pipe blows and turns their family to ash. Appalachians have been fighting this pipeline since day one and will keep fighting until it’s stopped for good. Doom to the pipeline.”
“This area is home to some of the steepest terrain along the pipeline’s path and contains large road, river, and railway crossings. All these obstacles have made this one of the most difficult, dangerous sections of natural gas pipeline in the country,” the Appalachians Against Pipelines statement continued. “The Mountain Valley Pipeline is a 42-inch diameter fracked gas pipeline slated to cross 300 miles of Appalachia. In June 2023, congress passed a law to fast track the MVP, despite the pipeline’s long history of environmental violations and failure to hold on to key permits. People have been resisting the MVP since it was initially proposed and continue to fight this project.”
