Coal mining protesters arrested in W. Virgina governor's office

Seven opponents of mountaintop removal mining, ages 18 to 22, were arrested Monday afternoon as they staged a sit-in at the State Capitol office of Governor Joe Manchin, a Democrat. Capitol Police and State Police troopers arrested the seven protesters shortly after 5 pm when they refused to leave a reception area that was closing at the end of the day. Earlier, Manchin met with the protesters, Coal River Valley residents and supporters associated with Mountain Justice and Climate Ground Zero. They delivered a letter to the governor asking him to use his executive powers to repeal the permits issued for mountaintop removal mining operations on Coal River Mountain, one of the last intact mountains remaining in the Coal River Valley area. "We are delivering this letter to our governor with residents of the Coal River Valley," said Miranda Miller and Angela Wiley of Morgantown, West Virginia, two of the seven sitters. "We are West Virginia citizens standing in solidarity with the people who submitted comments for this letter, voicing their concerns on the dangers of blasting on Coal River Mountain," they said.