"The Trump administration wants harsher penalties for people who interfere with the operation or construction of pipelines, joining states and the pipeline industry in an effort opposed by civil rights groups and environmentalists.
The administration announced today that it is proposing that Congress significantly expand the types of actions subject to criminal prosecutions.
The proposal comes amid protests of large gas transmission lines such as the Mountain Valley pipeline being built in Virginia and West Virginia and three years after protests of the Dakota Access pipeline attracted national attention. Attorneys for Mountain Valley developers last month urged a federal judge to remove two protesters who have been sitting in trees in an attempt to block the pipeline.
Critics have been fighting similar proposals at the state level, alleging industry's concerns are overblown and the new laws criminalize free speech."
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