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Smash I69!: 15 Lock Down, I Arrested, Semi's Tires Slashed

***This is a Repost of Corporate News***

HAUBSTADT - Local authorities took an I-69 protester into custody after about 15 protesters blocked the entrance of highway contractor Gohmann Asphalt's Haubstadt yard, locking themselves to some equipment.
Indiana State Police Sgt. Todd Ringle said Kathleen Cornetta, 21, Zionsville, was arrested on an initial misdemeanor charge of criminal mischief. She is accused of releasing air from the tires on a semi tractor-trailer in the paving company's yard.



The yard is owned by the company which has been awarded a contract for the first two miles of the project beginning in Gibson County, roughly paralleling the path of Ind. 57.

Michael Becker, of Fresno, Calif., a spokesman for the group of protesters, said they arrived around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday and blocked the entrance in protest of the business working on the project. “We don't tolerate profit off of destruction of natural resources,” he said.

As local authorities arrived, protesters chanted, “You can put our friends in jail, but we will drive the final nail.”

Dozens of police officers were at the scene, but no incidents of violence were reported.

Gibson County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Sharon Werne arrived at the protest and negotiated with the demonstrators. She kept in contact with Prosecutor Rob Krieg by cell phone and said the protesters were issued an ultimatum that if they refused to disband, they would be charged.

“We finally gave them a 15 minute time frame for them to disperse or they would be arrested,” she said.

The devices which the protesters used to bolt themselves to the truck were confiscated, Werne said.

At the scene, one protester locked his neck to a bar on the roof of the semi with a bicycle lock, while others chained themselves to the truck's axles.

“They are creating a lot of problems for these innocent people here,” Ringle said.

The driver of the semi, owned by Riverton Trucks of Corydon, declined to give his name, but said he was delivering sand and rock to Gohmann Asphalt. When he attempted to leave the facility, the protesters stood in front of his truck. He said one protester talked to him while Cornetta deflated his tires.

He said he chased Cornetta away from one front tire, but she had already deflated the other.

He said he asked Gohmann's manager what he should do and the manager said to lock the truck and let the protesters have it.

“It's not right that they didn't get locked up,” he said of the remaining protesters. “They cost Gohmann Asphalt thousands of dollars and me a half a day of work.”

A protester said in an e-mail this morning that the event was “in retaliation” of a tree-sitting eviction along the I-69 construction path in Gibson County June 20.

Several Haubstadt residents watched the protesters and police officers. “Haubstadt - gateway to danger,” mused resident Dave Ingler. “And the scary thing is they (the demonstrators) can vote.”

Krieg said in a statement the protesters have a right to peacefully demonstrate, but not to disrupt the activities of a business.

“While the protesters were allowed to leave, they and all others should know that (Wednesday's activities) would serve as a warning,” said Krieg. “Future protesters who refuse to follow guidelines or who in any way violate the criminal code will be prosecuted.

“We believe that allowing the protesters to leave of their own accord was the best way to defuse a potentially volatile situation. However, if these or any other individuals take this as a green light to break the law, they will find my patience and mercy will have been exhausted.”

Cornetta, the woman arrested during the protest, was being held on $1,300 cash bond as of Wednesday evening, but Werne said she would recommend to a judge that she be released on her own recognizance. Cornetta is scheduled to be in court today.
 
 

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