In the aftermath of a June 18 incident, the Boone County Circuit Court has issued an order that is good for Massey Energy and bad for the Rainforest Action Network.

Last Thursday, Thompson was on the bench deciding whether a permanent restraining order was necessary.

Massey attorney Sam Rock told Judge Thompson that the protesters "have endangered themselves and the miners on duty that day."

"These protesters have received no training from Massey or anyone else in even the least amount and risked death. They attempted to climb a dragline, risking a fall that would most surely have ended in their deaths," Rock said.

Rock also pointed out that the mine was in essence shut down for nearly three hours, costing the company tens of thousands of dollars in lost production.

"There is no defense possible for the trespassing," Rock told the judge.

The attorney showed a video originally posted on YouTube. While mine superintendent Harold Osborne was on the stand Rock went step-by-step through scenes on the seven minute video, explaining what was happening in various scenes. Osborne pointed out where his company believes the activists entered the property and the possible deadly consequences they faced during the journey.

"We have mine breaks in the woods surrounding the dragline that could have been deadly to these people," he said.

A mine break is essentially a crack in the Earth that happens due to closed underground mines expanding and contracting.

"There are mine breaks there that are big enough to lose a full-sized Ford F-250 pickup into," he said.

"If one of those people fell into one of the deeper breaks, we might never find them."

Osborne also told the court that a group of miners went into the woods adjacent to the protest site where they encountered another group of protesters who were filming the incident. He said at least one of them was able to evade detention and later posted the video on the Internet.

Defense attorney Roger Foreman argued against the permanent restraining order on the grounds that the activists were already precluded from entering the property by law. He also maintained that his clients could not mount a credible defense to Massey’s claims on the grounds that they were unable to access still and video cameras seized by the Boone County Sheriff’s Department when the activists were arrested.

In the end, Thompson decided that the activists could not justify entering the property. "I believe in the right of civil disobedience," the judge said.

"However, it was against the law for your group to trespass on Massey property. I cannot get past that fact. If you had protested in a lawful manner, then this court hearing might not have been necessary.”

Thompson barred the protesters from entering any Massey properties, stating that if they did so, they could face fines up to $10,000 and possible jail time.

In the meantime, Magistrate Chuck Byrnside confirmed that each of the protestors has requested a jury trial in their misdemeanor trespassing cases when they return later this month.