(Raleigh News Observer) A small group of protesters chained themselves to revolving doors at a state office building in downtown Raleigh and blocked the entry for over an hour Monday in an act of political theater the participants termed civil disobedience.
Tamara Matheson, a veterinary technician who is active in Croatan Earth First, said activists will stage more protests if fracking is permitted to proceed in North Carolina. The Carrboro resident said fracking – a method of removing natural gas from deep rock formations – poisons drinking water and destroys the environment.
Raleigh and State Capitol police were prepared with bolt cutters to break up the protest and initially cordoned off the area as a “crime scene.” But they left the demonstrators undisturbed until the group dispersed on its own at midday without incident.
“It just fuels their fire if your arrest them,” State Capitol Police Interim Chief Antonio Asion said. “If we prolong it, it just makes it worse.”
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