Mountain Valley Pipeline protesters set up blockade at Roanoke County construction site
ROANOKE COUNTY, Va. (WFXR) — Several units with the Roanoke County Police Department are currently on the scene of a protest at the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) construction site that began early Thursday morning.
On May 16, WFXR crews arrived at Honeysuckle Road where the “Appalachians Against Pipelines” group set up a blockade at the construction site in the Bent Mountain area.
The “Appalachians Against Pipelines” group says a man has locked himself to two barrels, stopping construction workers from accessing a work yard, and two access roads.
WFXR’s crew at the scene says several units from the Roanoke County Police Department have blocked access to demonstrators and protesters.
In a statement from the Appalachians Against Pipelines, the man said, “I’m sitting locked to two barrels today because I see no choice but to rebel against these systems in any small way I can. To choose to fight on the side of the mountains, the rivers, the critters, and the people. Against the extraction, empires, and all death-making institutions,”
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This protest is just one of many that have sparked across the Roanoke Valley over the last year. It comes after the MVP’s parent company Equitrans Midstream is looking to bring the pipeline into service this summer.
Currently, it is not clear if anyone has been taken into custody. A Roanoke County officer at the scene told WFXR, that an extraction team is on the way to the protest.
This is a developing story. WFXR News will update this story as more information is released.
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