First Day of Trial for Pipeline Foes Starts with Press Conference

The trial began Friday for the Montrose 9, activists arrested for disorderly conduct Nov. 9 for halting work on Spectra Energy's Algonquin Pipeline AIM project by blocking access to their construction yard in Montrose, NY. A spokesperson, Cortlandt resident Courtney Williams, said the defendants are using the "Necessity Defense," claiming their actions were necessary to prevent harm to the public posed by the pipeline construction, in additional to exercising their First Amendment Rights, f ollowing closely on the heels of a decision in the Delta 5 case in Washington State .
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