Action Alert:
The Marfork Five are protesters facing a federal lawsuit for their role in a January 2010 tree-sit in protest of mountaintop removal mining on Coal River Mountain in West Virginia. The tree-sit shut down blasting on part of the Bee Tree Strip Mine for nine days, and Marfork Coal – a subsidiary of Massey Energy – is alleging at least $75,000 in damages. This lawsuit is one of five simultaneous Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (“SLAPP” suits) that have been filed against over 30 defendants by four separate Massey Energy subsidiaries. The Marfork Five are using this trial as an opportunity to put mountaintop removal on trial in a federal courtroom. Arguing the defense of necessity, they state that their trespass was necessary to stop the greater crime of mountaintop removal. The trial will take place on June 14 at the federal courthouse in Beckley, West Virginia. Go here for a more detailed history of the case. To find out more about how you can help, click here.
Donate toward their legal expenses
Read on…
The following Cross-posted from their website:
Get Involved
Here’s how you can help us out!
Tell your friends about the upcoming national call-in day to end the lawsuits against 34 anti-MTR activists.
Donate & Fundraise: Defending five individuals against a federal lawsuit (in addition to 29 other individuals facing four separate state-level lawsuits) pursued by a multibillion-dollar corporation is not cheap. Though we have a committed team of pro bono attorneys who have put in countless hours of unpaid work, we need to raise funds for a host of legal expenses including:
- Purchasing court documents, transcripts & paying for Freedom of Information Act requests.
- Covering travel expenses for out-of-state attorneys who are donating their time to this case.
- Compensating expert witnesses.
- Assisting defendants in paying for their travel expenses to West Virginia for depositions and trial.
- You can make a secure online donation to the Appalachian Justice Center here.
Put Your Legal Skills to Use: Additional legal support is always welcome. Handling five simultaneous SLAPP suits is an enormous task for a small and overworked group of pro bono attorneys operating in an unfriendly and oftentimes corrupt court system. If you are an attorney interested in getting involved, please get in touch. Additionally, counsel for the defendants will happily supervise clinical students interested in helping to fight the courtroom battle against mountaintop removal.
Help Spread the Word: These five defendants have put their bodies on the line to stand up to the greed and corruption of the coal industry and are now facing overwhelming financial repercussions for their actions. We need to use this case to put Massey Energy and Marfork Coal on trial and show the public who the real criminals are. Media attention is critical to this end.
If you can provide financial, legal, media, or any other kind of assistance, please email: marfork5@gmail.com
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