It is reported that the Greenpeace 7, a group of environmental activists who hung a protest banner from a coal elevator at the harbor side United Illuminating plant, were all released on bond pending arraignment March 4th 2011 in Superior Court.
As per report, Mr John Deans of Washington DC, Mr Nicholas Simmons of Vashon WA, Mr Lauren Thorpe of San Francisco, Mr Aiyah Field of Washington DC, Mr Robbins McGraw of San Francisco, Mr Daniel Homes of St Petersburg and Mr Hope Kaye of San Francisco, were all released after posting USD 25,000 bonds.
They are charged with first degree criminal trespass, disorderly conduct, criminal mischief, first degree reckless endangerment and breach of peace.
While two small boats waited below, police said the defendants climbed onto a coal elevator and hung a 40 by 20 foot banner from the structure that proclaimed: "Shut It Down Quit Coal."
State and national homeland security officials said that Thursday's Greenpeace banner hanging event at the Bridgeport Harbor Power Station didn't require a response from the Department of Homeland Security.
Ms Erin Dixon, spokeswoman for the Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound New Haven Station, said that a 41 foot Coast Guard boat was dispatched after the station was notified at 7:20 AM of the Greenpeace activity by the power plant's security department.
She added that "By the time we got there, the Bridgeport Police Department had the situation fully under control, so we remained on the scene just in a supportive capacity."
Since 2003, the US Coast Guard has been an arm of the US Department of Homeland Security.
Ms Dixon said that Coast Guard officers remained on the scene to review security measures with power plant officials. The plant, owned and operated by PSEG, is along the immediate shoreline. The banner was hung on the superstructure of the plant's coal elevator, which lifts coal from barges onto conveyor belts.
Mr Scott DeVico, a spokesman for the state Department of Homeland Security, said that although his office was kept apprised of the situation as it unfolded, it was not otherwise involved in the incident.
And Mr Chris Ortman, a spokesman for the Office of Public Affairs of the US Department of Homeland Security in Washington DC said that the national DHS office didn't get involved either, other than the USCG response. He added that "Since it was a facility on private property, it was a situation best handled by local police."
(Sourced from www.ctpost.com)
