Protesting professor removed from Mountain Valley perch

A Virginia Tech professor who locked herself to a piece of construction equipment to protest the Mountain Valley Pipeline has been removed and arrested.

The Roanoke Times quotes Virginia State Police Sgt. Rick Garletts as saying Emily Satterwhite will likely be charged with trespassing. The Appalachian studies professor tied herself to a piece of equipment 20 feet above the ground Thursday morning on Brush Mountain in Montgomery County.

Police on cherry pickers cut her free Thursday night. Satterwhite waved to about 30 people gathered near the John Deere excavator as she descended and was met with cheers. Rick Garletts says Satterwhite was jailed after being checked by rescue workers. She had been warned that not voluntarily descending would end in her arrest. She said she would face the consequences.

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Information from: The Roanoke Times, http://www.roanoke.com