State Watch

Dozens of protesters arrested at New Hampshire coal plant

Nearly 70 people protesting the use of fossil fuels were arrested over the weekend as they demonstrated at a coal plant in New Hampshire.

The activists were reportedly arrested Saturday on charges of trespassing on the grounds of the Merrimack Station coal plant, according to The Associated Press.

The 67 people who were arrested were among the more than 200 protestors who flocked to the coal plant, calling for it to be shut down.

{mosads}The protest was organized by activist groups 350 New Hampshire, Rights and Democracy, New Hampshire Youth Movement and Climate Disobedience, the AP noted. 

The groups had been planning the protest at the largest coal plant left in the Northeast for weeks and were not surprised by the arrests, according to the New Hampshire Union Leader.

350 New Hampshire, an affiliate of climate activist group 350, aims to end the use of fossil fuels.

Those who were arrested Saturday could be seen in photos wearing Tyvek suits. The protest came at the end of a week of protests across the world to bring awareness to the impact of climate change.

Granite Shore Power, owners of the plant, in a statement to the Union Leader said it respected the group’s right to protest.

“Unfortunately, today’s protest and trespassing was more about making a scene and breaking the law than about conveying an informed point of view,” it said in the statement.