23 Arrested in Lancaster Demonstration Against Planned Pipeline | Sojourners

23 Arrested in Lancaster Demonstration Against Planned Pipeline

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23 protesters were arrested at a demonstration against the Atlantic Sunrise gas pipeline in Lancaster County, Pa., on Oct. 16, according to the York Daily Record

The group of protesters known as Lancaster Against Pipelines, which includes a Catholic order of nuns of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ, was charged with defiant trespass after approximately 70 peaceful protesters blocked contruction of the pipeline. 

The York Daily Record reports:

[Protestors] sang and prayed, awaiting word on when something would happen. Construction was to begin Monday – two days after a federal judge declined to grant the Adorers an injunction to stop construction as the federal civil liberties suit the order filed winds its way through court. 

The Adorers claim that the developer's seizure of the rights to the easement via eminent domain violated their religious freedom, since reverence for the land was among their deeply held spiritual beliefs. 

Williams Partners, the energy infrastructure company attempting to build 180 miles of pipeline through 10 Pennsylvania counties, has settled with all but one percent of the more than 1,000 landowners affected by the pipelines. The Adorers of the Blood of Christ are part of the one percent. 

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