Four protesters against New England’s last coal-fired power plant will not have to serve any direct jail time but face thousands of dollars in fines for helping blockade a coal train in 2019.
The protesters were found guilty of trespass after a three-day trial in Merrimack County Superior Court in March.
Judge Andrew Schulman handed down the sentence last week despite arguments from defendants’ attorneys that the urgency of the climate crisis justified the nonviolent action on the part of defendants.
The protesters were among more than 20 people who for several hours in December 2019 blocked a train from delivering coal to Merrimack Station power plant in Bow.
It is one of several public actions by two groups, 350NH and Climate Disobedience, seeking to shut down the plant. Coal is the fuel that contributes most to global warming when burned for power or heat. Scores of coal-fired power plants throughout the country have closed in recent years for economic reasons, as it is cheaper to produce electricity with natural gas or solar and wind power.
According to the protesters, Dana Dwinell-Yardley and Daniel Flynn were sentenced to four months in the county jail, suspended for three years with good behavior, while Johnny Sanchez and Jonathan O’Hara were sentenced to six months in the county jail, suspended for five years with good behavior.
If any of them are arrested again they will have to serve this jail time.
They were ordered to pay restitution to PanAm Railways of $6,215 , plus fines totaling more than $8,000, and court costs.