Protesters sitting on a banner that reads “Duke is destroying our earth with taxpayer dollars” were arrested Thursday afternoon at the intersection of Tryon and Stonewall streets, near the Duke Energy building. Photo: Meghan Cooke
Six protesters were taken away in handcuffs earlier Thursday near the corporate headquarters for Duke Energy. They had locked arms and were sitting on top of a banner claiming that the energy company was harming the environment.
Two dozen officers surrounded them and eventually lifted up the protesters, who refused to move. They then put them into prisoner transport vans.
Just before her arrest, 26-year-old Christina Mounce of Casper, W. Virginia, criticized the utility company for burning coal and running nuclear power plants.
“We want President Obama to stop accepting their campaign money,” said Mounce, a marine biologist. “The president is setting a horrible example by being linked with them.”
The demonstrators at Stonewall and Tryon streets said they were demanding an audience with Jim Rogers, the CEO of Duke Energy.
The others arrested were Amelia Campbell, 22, of Boulder, Colo.; Audrey Campbell, 22, of Boulder, Colo.; Richard French, 39, of Farmington, N.M.; Matthew Goodsell, 56; and Michael Joseph Stewart, 25, of Lakewood, Colo. All were charged with impeding traffic.
Counting Thursday’s detentions, a total of 25 protesters were arrested or taken away in handcuffs during the three-day convention, which ended Thursday night.