Melissa O’Neil began her day knowing that it was likely she would end up in jail.

The 36-year-old Oklahoma resident and mother of four says she knew she would be arrested for climbing atop the dragline at the Massey Energy surface mine site this past Thursday, yet claims she was unafraid.

O’Neil was just one of 14 people who were arrested during an anti-mountaintop removal protest which shut down the dragline at Massey Energy’s Progress Mine, at Twilight.

Four of those persons scaled the dragline, two others were freelance journalists documenting the events, while eight others remained on the ground or on the boom of the equipment to keep it from operating.

Ten of the 14 people arrested are facing charges of criminal trespassing and conspiracy, according to criminal complaints filed in the Magistrate Court of Boone County.

Those facing trespassing and conspiracy charges are David Pike, 42, of North Carolina; Rodney Webb, 43, of North Carolina; Lisa Ramsden, 23, of Washington, D.C.; Jeanne Evelyn Kirshon, 21, of Maryland; John Johnson, III, 39, of Tennessee; Paul C. Brown, 43, of West Virginia; Gregory Yost, 42, of North Carolina; Jessica Eley, of Washington; and Kurt Delano, 46, of Michigan.

Hailed by the West Virginia Division of Culture and History as a social activist journalist, Paul C. Brown, of Fayetteville, was the only person arrested Thursday who is a long-time resident of West Virginia.

Brown was born and raised in Fayette County and still lives on family property, just three miles from where he was born to a third-generation coal miner.

“I understand that it is very easy to get wrapped up in the ‘you’re not from around here’ mentality. I appreciate that people sometimes take that stance because we, as West Virginians have a long history of people from the outside coming in and taking advantage of us,” he explained.

“Most of the people who were protesting are part of the Appalachian culture. They’re from Tennessee and North Carolina - it’s still Appalachia. It’s an Appalachian issue. This ceased being a local issue. This is a human issue,” Brown said. “There are no outsiders when it comes to environmental issues.”

“This is a serious issue and we need to be thoughtful about it. Both sides need to be thoughtful and put aside their egos and those best practices need to come to the forefront. What we do to the Earth now is so important and the impacts of the emissions and mining doesn’t just impact Boone or Kanawha Counties,” he said.

For the past five years Brown has lived in a house he built in Fayette County that is solar-powered and his work as a freelance photographer has been published by news outlets such as the Washington Post and New York Times.

When he is asked to talk about his work, Brown quickly points out two things. First, he says his work is not about him, it’s about us, as human beings. Secondly, he says, “I don’t want a person to look at the work and think, “wow, that’s too bad,” but rather, “what can I do about it?”

“We all hold some responsibility to this situation. I didn’t build my house to be solar-powered to be preachy. It’s because I honestly believe that this thing is not about Paul Brown; it’s about the Earth and how never before has a species had such a unilateral chance to destroy it all,” he said.

Brown says he is proud that he comes from three generations of coal miners. “We can maintain that pride in our heritage and still move forward. I don’ think it’s a slap in the face that I built a solar-powered house. I think if my ancestors were alive, they’d slap their knees and say ‘well done’. At the time, mining coal was a novel thing. Then again, asbestos was a great thing when we came up with it. But when we learned it was bad for us, we did something about it,” he said.

“To progress as human beings, we are going to invent things. Some things we invent will be great and others will be not so great and then it’s time to move on,” he said.

Brown accepts that he is being charged with trespassing on private property, stating, “We were called immediately before and told there was going to be action. The likelihood that we were going to get caught up in it was pretty high.”

“I think trespassing is a two-way street. I don’t find it any different than the [coal mining industry’s] destruction of the groundwater and air quality. A journalist’s role is to document and disseminate information. These stories are bigger than these invisible lines in the sand,” he said. Brown said he has very strong feelings of what is happening in the world and accepts assignments that he cares about.

In addition to trespassing and conspiracy charges, the four activists who scaled the dragline to drape a large banner that read, “Stop Mountaintop Removal,” were charged with battery, fleeing and littering, according to criminal complaints filed in the Magistrate Court.

Those facing these additional charges are Charles Suggs, IV, 25, of Florida; Chelsea M. Ritter-Soronen, 22, of Ohio; Lynn D. Stone, 43, of Maine; and Melissa O’Neil.

Boone County Sheriff Rodney Miller, says battery was added to the list of charges after four of the protesters, who climbed from the boom to scale the dragline, allegedly shoved Massey workers to gain access to the surface mine site.

According to Miller, a call was made to Boone County 911 at approximately 6 a.m. Thursday, notifying authorities of the situation.

“They had forced their way onto the dragline and four of them had harnessed themselves up, attempting to unfurl more banners,” Miller said.

One miner was transported to the hospital as a precaution, though the visit was reported later as "not altercation related," according to officials.

According to reports in the Charleston Gazette, Jama Jarett, a spokesperson for the state Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training, stated that a state mine safety inspector witnessed the protest, and reported that the protesters shoved at least one Massey miner in order to gain entry to the dragline.

Those charged with battery deny the charge. A video of the protest has surfaced on the internet. It can be found at http://understory.ran.org/2009/06/20/video-mountain-action-team-shuts-down-and-climbs-20-story-dragline/ .

The video shows the silhouette of people in hard hats making their way onto the surface mine site. As the dawn begins to break, the video shows individuals dressed in green t-shirts with white lettering, “STOP Mountaintop Removal” interacting with coal mining employees at the Progress mine site, eventually making their way onto the dragline.

The 14 protestors have adamantly denied any use of violence this past Thursday.

Lynn Stone, of Maine, a former volunteer firefighter and EMT, commented, “We are all non-violent activists and there was no destruction of property. We have a code of conduct that involves how we interact with others and as a team.”

Stone said that in the past she has worked in the San Quentin prison system as a non-violence trainer, teaching inmates alternatives to violence and used her more than eight years of experience in the de-escalation of tension during Thursday’s protests.

Thursday's incident at Twilight is the latest in a series of what had been billed as peaceful civil disobedience protests. Joe Rienhart, of North Carolina, who identified himself as a member of the Rainforest Action Network, said the action was “necessary.”

Reinhart said he has been coming to Boone County on a frequent basis for nearly five years and "had a great respect for the working men and women of the county." The trespass, he emphasized "was necessary to bring attention to the destruction of the mountains of West Virginia."

"Massey Coal is destroying the water supply and making the people of the small communities surrounding their mountaintop mines sick. They destroy the mountaintops because it is cheaper than underground mining and have no regard for the health and safety of either their employees or the residents of Boone County," he said.

The activist said he and his organization understand that many families rely upon paychecks from mountaintop mining operations. "It’s clear that this type of mining cannot be stopped overnight," Reinhart said. "We as a society have to work to find other, more sustainable jobs for these people."

The end goal these protesters seek is the shutting down of mountaintop removal mines and drawing attention to the damages caused by the practice.

Massey Energy’s Chairman and CEO Don Blankenship made the following statement to media regarding Thursday’s protest:

“It is my understanding that all but one of the fourteen protesters who were arrested for scaling a dragline at Massey Energy's Twilight Mine in Southern West Virginia are residents of states other than West Virginia; such as Maine, Oklahoma, Michigan and Florida. As a native of Appalachia and a resident of West Virginia, I find it hypocritical that these folks come from out of the state to waste West Virginian’s tax dollars and endanger our state troopers and miners."

"When protesters perform dangerous acts such as scaling the boom of a piece of equipment to gain media attention, they not only put themselves at risk, but also put our miners and state troopers in danger. Every West Virginian should be outraged that these people come from outside our state to shut down mines that are legally permitted to operate. These media stunts take law enforcement personnel away from essential crime fighting and first response activities and puts all West Virginians at risk."

"It is clear that these folks are not concerned with the people, the environment or the economy of West Virginia. Their efforts are purely about gaining hype and media attention for their out-of-state funders and patrons," concluded Blankenship. "It is time for all West Virginians to stand up and say enough is enough to the protesters. We know our state and our economy and we won't be told what to do.”

The protest followed the Obama administration’s announcement of a plan to try to more strictly regulate mountaintop removal mining. More than 100 mining permits are being reviewed by the EPA, including eight mine sites in Boone County.

"It's way past time for civil disobedience to stop mountaintop removal and move quickly toward clean, renewable energy sources," said Coal River Mountain Watch Co-Director Judy Bonds, who was not directly involved in Thursday's action.

"For over a century, Appalachian communities have been crushed, flooded and poisoned as a result of the country's dangerous and outdated reliance on coal. How could the country care so little about our American mountains, our cultures and our lives?" Bonds said in a prepared statement.

“Any environmental justice issue is a social justice issue,” activist Lynn Stone commented, further stating that she and fellow protestors are not trying to cause anyone to lose their job.

“We are pro-jobs. I believe everybody needs to be dedicated to clean energy now. I’d like to say this push toward renewable energy is a collective effort, just like any other effort in history. It’s not uncommon for people to see something egregious happening and want to do something about it,” Stone said.

Following their arrests, the protestors were taken to a holding facility in Madison until their arraignment at 2 p.m.

Strewn across the front lawn of the Boone County Sheriff’s Office were large banners, cameras, and several backpacks and climbing gear. The confiscated items were brought to Madison in the back of a Massey pick-up truck.

Officials with both the Boone County Sheriff’s Office, and two gentleman who identified themselves only as “security” with Massey Energy, searched through the activist’s confiscated items.

Some of the items catalogued included digital cameras, video cameras, phones, water bottles, energy bars, books, journals, parkas and rain gear, headache medicine, handcuffs and handcuff keys, pocketknife, a lump of coal, MREs, and an adult diaper.

According to the criminal complaint filed in Magistrate Court of Boone County, “the violators were asked to leave by the Mine Foreman via loudspeaker and refused to do so.”

The report then states that four of the activists “climbed a ladder onto a large piece of equipment and unlawfully and intentionally pushed a worker in order to gain access to the drag line.”

At approximately 11:30 a.m., a report was called in to the Coal Valley News by Nell Greenberg, a spokeswoman for the group, that the protestors had been arrested after Massey employees began shaking the cables they had harnessed themselves to on the dragline.

According to authorities, however, the protestors climbed down after Massey employees and a Boone County Sheriff’s deputy were able to climb up after the protestors, getting close enough to communicate with them and talk them down.

“We came down because Massey created a dangerous situation, so we made a decision based on the safety of everyone involved,” activist Charles Suggs said prior to his arraignment.

It took approximately six hours to arraign all 14 protestors and as of 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, none of the equipment confiscated had been returned.

“Everything we seized is going to be held as evidence until they are adjudicated. It’s all been used in an official crime,” Chief Deputy Chad Barker said, estimating that it could take anywhere from 6 months to a year-and-a-half before all the property is returned.

This does not sit well with Paul Brown, who repeatedly asked for his camera equipment to be returned, as it is “a part of his livelihood as a photographer.”

Twelve of the 14 protestors posted cash bond after being arraigned in Magistrate Court late Thursday afternoon.

Those charged with trespassing and conspiracy were released on a $500 cash bail, while the four activists facing additional charges of battery and littering posted a $1,250 cash bail.

A condition of their release on bond is that none of the activists are allowed back on coal mining property, according to court documents.

If indicted and convicted on the charges of trespassing and conspiracy, 10 of the protestors could face a fine up to $1500 and up to 18 months in jail, according to court documents.

According to Sheriff Miller, some of those arrested Thursday were under restraining orders from Raleigh County. Miller said he had also been in contact with some federal authorities, namely the Federal Bureau of Investigation, earlier Thursday morning and the protestors could face federal charges in addition to those already brought against them in Boone County.

When asked why it was necessary to climb a dragline to raise awareness of mountaintop removal mining, Stone said, “If you were sick and you thought something you did might help, even if it sounded ridiculous or weird, you would do it to make the pain stop.”

O’Neil added, “In my other life I am a teacher and a youth minister. I don’t know if it makes a difference on a bigger scale and I know people do it in different ways. Some people get active by going into politics; some write letters and then there is social activism. Mountaintop removal mining is at a state of emergency where social activism is necessary.”

While each protestor arrested had varying levels of experience with social activism, had come from various places around the country, and had varying reasons for their participation in the event on Thursday, one thing they all expressed was a strong feeling for protecting the environment from the destruction caused by the practice of mountaintop removal mining.

One small detail from last Thursday’s protest that may have gone unnoticed by camera crews and those who witnessed the group’s arraignment, (yet clearly visible in the video footage posted online), is that several of the activists wore a red handkerchief around their necks.

According to Stone and O’Neil, they were symbolic of the spirit of the miners who marched at Blair Mountain. “Human beings can create a new world, where people aren’t being poisoned by industries concerned with profiting at the expense of the communities where they operate,” O’Neil said.