Group Says 14 Activists Arrested At W.Va. Mine

TIM HUBER

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Authorities arrested 14 people Thursday after anti-mining activists staged a protest that briefly halted production at one of southern West Virginia's largest coal mines.

All were involved in a protest at Massey Energy Co.'s Twilight surface mine. Four of the activists scaled the 300-foot boom of a piece of earthmoving equipment at the Boone County mine and unfurled a sign protesting mountaintop removal mining, a practice that involves blasting away ridgetops to expose coal seams.

Protester Charles Suggs IV said he and three other climbers spent at least 4 hours about 200 feet in the air before climbing down to be arrested with a 10-member ground team. ...