Hawkins for Auditor

Cabot Gas Moves to Jail Anti-Fracking Leader Vera Scroggins
Alleges She Violated Injunction When Touring Howie Hawkins Around Gas Fields
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Howie Hawkins Stands With Scroggins and Blasts Gas Company

(Dimock, PA) — Cabot Oil and Gas Corporation is seeking fines and jail time for peaceful anti-fracking leader Vera Scroggins for allegedly violating an injunction banning her from areas near its gas fields.

Cabot filed its legal motions against Ms. Scroggins just days after she led Green Party candidate for New York Governor Howie Hawkins on a citizens tour of the Pennsylvania fracking fields and to meet with families whose land, water and health have been negatively impacted by the hydrofracturing operations in Pennsylvania.

The fracking company alleges that she showed "blatant" disregard for the ban when she took Hawkins on the tour and allegedly stood within 100 feet of an access road leading to one of Cabot’s wells in Dimock, Pennsylvania.

"This is pure harassment by fossil fuel barons against a non-violent, peaceful citizen activist who is a leader in the fight to protect our water, air and land against degradation by these gas companies. Not only is Cabot trying to take away Vera Scroggins right of free speech and movement, they want to jail her, fine her, and even pay their legal fees. They’re behavior is unconscionable and disgusting," said Howie Hawkins.

"Ms. Scroggins will not be bullied. I will stand with her and support any citizen standing up for the very water we drink and air we breathe. We know these fracking corporations like Cabot think they own the water, air and land, and now they seem to think they own us. I stand with Ms. Scroggins. She is a model citizen."

Scroggins says she has not violated the injunction and that she has been continuing and will continue to lead her Pennsylvania fracking field tours. The ACLU, which has represented Ms. Scroggins against Cabot’s attacks, has called the injunction "unjustified."

"What I saw on Ms. Scroggins tour is more than enough to reaffirm my opposition to fracking in New York state. As Governor I will ban fracking; unfortunately Governor Cuomo cannot be trusted at all to ban fracking. Besides the environmental disaster that fracking is, and the step backward it represents in the fight to turn the tide in the global climate crisis, we can't allow big oil to come into our state, or any state, to bully  citizens and take away their rights."

The injunction has been in place on Ms. Scroggins since last January.

Video of Howie Hawkins on the October 9th, Scroggins led fracking tour can be viewed at: http://www.howiehawkins.org/dimock_pa_videos