Seventeen people were arrested on Saturday after protesting mountaintop removal sites in Southern West Virginia. Magistrates in Raleigh County set a $2,000 cash-only bond for several protesters while others arrested in Boone County were given trespassing tickets and released.
On Tuesday afternoon, concerned citizens and environmentalists representing Coal River Mountain Watch, Mountain Justice, and Climate Ground Zero waited anxiously on the release of their friends at the Raleigh County Courthouse. The four were arrested on Saturday after protesting mountaintop removal sites in Southern West Virginia.
The activists said they spent the weekend at Southern Regional Jail because they couldn’t post a $2,000 cash only bond.
Sid Moye is from Rock, West Virginia. He’s one of the protesters able to make bond, but not without making some sacrifices.
"Family was real good for me," he said. "My wife and grand-kids scraped up enough money to get me out."
"It’s wrong they charged us a $2,000 fine a cash fine over a trespassing charge. Kind of silly to me but I was real glad to get out I just feel sorry for the fellas who had to stay in there longer."
Eric Blevins is from Tennessee and part of Mountain Justice.
"I was given a $2,000 bond for a crime with a maximum penalty is $100," he said.
"While I was in jail … people on the outside were able to raise enough to get several of us out really early and then people had to spend a few nights in jail but they were willing to do that they knew they were taking that risk when they go into this."
The people arrested in Boone County were given trespassing tickets and let go. In March, a Raleigh County judge granted a restraining order against several other environmental protesters, but this weekend’s protesters say they’re determined to stop mountaintop removal in Southern West Virginia.
"Think it points out how the unjust the system is," Blevins said.
Like several other protesters, Blevins says he’s concerned about the stability of the Brushy Fork dam in Raleigh County. The dam holds about billions gallons of toxic sludge produced from area coal mines.
"The most blatant injustice is the fact that they’re blasting and threatening almost 1,000 people with imminent death but even if dam doesn’t break it’s still destroying the environment," he said.
Magistrate officials say there are 4 things to consider when setting a bond: how heinous the crime is, the alleged offenders’ ties to the community, the arresting officers’ recommendation, and the likelihood of recommitting a crime.
A bondsman clerk also said a higher penalty is common when the suspect is from another area and not as likely to show up for a court date.
Also, conservative bloggers have questioned rather Mountain Justice and Climate Ground Zero should be registered as charities with the Secretary of State’s Office because both are raising money to bail out these protesters.
However, people from both campaigns say the groups are "movements" not non-profits. Mike Roselle of Climate Ground Zero, says the group is exempt anyway because it’s raised less than a $25,000 threshold , after which they would be required to register as a charity.