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Traffic into a Coal Mine, that is

One of our all time favorite movie mermaids has splashed into the news after being arrested on misdemeanor charges of obstruction and impeding traffic. She was booked by State Police after becoming involved in a protest against coal mining in the mountain tops of West Virginia.

Actress and environmentalist Daryl Hannah along with NASA scientist, James Hansen, and about 30 fellow protesters refused to move and blocked State Route 3 during a sit-in close to the plant operated by Massey Energy Company. The plant is located in Raleigh County where the company processes coal.

The protesters were ready and motivated to go directly inside the Massey gates; however several hundred coal miners along with their supporters blocked the gate entrance. According to a news release from the protesters, they admitted they were “purposely trespassing to protest the destruction of mountains immediately above the Coal River Valley community.”

Hannah and fellow protesters were later released with a caution. This wasn’t the first arrest for Hannah; in June of 2006 she was taken into custody for chaining herself to a Walnut tree at the South Central Farm in Los Angeles for three weeks.