Gore’s daughter rejects deal on trespass charge
Karenna Gore, daughter of former Vice President Al Gore, and five other activists will face trespassing charges for protesting at Spectra Energy’s West Roxbury natural gas pipeline after refusing a plea deal.
“We feel very strongly that justice is on the side of standing up to Spectra and staying that this fracked gas pipeline shouldn’t be put in against the will of this community,” Karenna Gore said after a court appearance yesterday at West Roxbury Municipal Court.
Gore and seven others were arrested June 29 after climbing into a trench in Westie, lying down and disrupting work on Spectra’s natural gas pipeline. Gore and others had to be carried out on stretchers.
The plea deal offered would have included a requirement to stay away from the construction site, Gore said.
“I am absolutely going to continue to protest the West Roxbury lateral pipeline,” she said.
Yesterday, Gore said this was the first time she has taken part in civil disobedience.
“All of the elected officials in this community are against it, the only reason this pipeline is going in is because of the power of a corporation and the sway they have over the regulatory process,” Gore said.
“They’ve tried everything, and it’s going in anyway, despite what elected officials want, so it’s important for people to stand together in this way to call attention to it.”
Mayor Martin J. Walsh, U.S. Rep. Stephen F. Lynch and nearly every other local politician has slammed the pipeline, in large part due to its planned route through a heavily residential neighborhood and proximity to an active quarry. The protesters will appear in court again on Sept. 6.