24 arrested near Rockwool construction site

KEARNEYSVILLE — At the end of a large, and peaceful, protest Thursday against the under-construction Rockwool stone wool manufacturing facility, 24 local citizens were arrested for obstructing an officer and blocking a roadway.

The protest occurred along the W.Va. 9 Bike Path in Kearneysville near the Northport Avenue bridge. According to a press release from a local group called Resist Rockwool, approximately 300 people attended the event with signs and props to demonstrate their opposition to the factory.

The civil disobedience portion of the protest was advertised via online event invites in advance. Those willing to risk arrest walked across the Northport Avenue bridge, then sat in a line across the road — symbolically blocking potential traffic into and out of the Rockwool construction site.

Among the 24 arrested was Del. Sammi Brown, D-Jefferson, who has vocally opposed the Rockwool facility. Brown has spoken at multiple local government meetings, asking officials to side with the voice of the people of Jefferson County.

Read more: https://www.journal-news.net/journal-news/arrested-near-rockwool-construction-site/article_f07de504-e7d6-5af1-a2d6-1eb1f7080f8a.html
(Martinsburg Journal)