This one has us spitting nails. We have reported, for months, about the activities of so-called protesters against Williams’ $3 billion Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline project. In particular, there is a group in Lancaster County, PA opposing the pipeline creatively called Lancaster Against Pipelines (LAP). Some of their members previously attended and participated in protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline in Standing Rock, ND–protests that turned violent and destroyed millions of dollars in equipment (see Dakota Access Pipeline Protesters Turn Violent; Coming Here Next?). In February, the chief organizer of LAP, Mark Clatterbuck, who participated in the illegal activities in North Dakota last year, announced he intends to bring that kind of mayhem to Lancaster County (see PA Anti Hopes to Bring Standing Rock Disaster to Lancaster County). Clatterbuck set his plans in motion in March (see Protesters Try to Resurrect Failed ND Pipeline Fight in Lancaster). Let’s see, thousands of protesters illegally blocking construction workers, burning equipment, and taking shots at police officers. How does that all sound for Lancaster County? Not very good, according to local State Senator Scott Martin, who organized a closed-door meeting yesterday with area first responders and police, piping in a satellite feed from North Dakota officials to discuss what Lancaster might do to prevent what happened in North Dakota (see Lancaster Forum to Focus on Handling Anarchists in Pipeline Protest). The forum was held yesterday, and protesters were there to protest the meeting about how to handle protesters (kind of meta, isn’t it?). The protesters said it was “disrespectful” and “irresponsible” to plan how to avoid the disaster of Standing Rock. Does that beat all? Are these people actually lunatics escaped from an asylum? To not plan how to handle a sizable group of people (many of whom will come from out of the area) that plan to engage in breaking the law–is the height of irresponsibility. Kudos to Sen. Martin for protecting area residents, the environment, and the workers who will build the pipeline irregardless of the temper tantrums thrown by these adult children who claim to be protesters…
