U.S.: Violent Massey Coal attack on Judy Bonds

[This from Grist. Video of attack on link]

http://www.grist.org/article/video-violent-massey-attack-on-goldman-priz...

Question of the week: Has any Obama administration or West Virginia
state official publicly denounced the violence by the mountaintop
removal operators this week?

Courtesy Coal River Mountain Watch / Amy SicklesIn last Tuesday’s nonviolent march
from Marsh Fork Elementary School, which sits downslope of a precarious
2.8 billion gallon coal sludge impoundment, and a Massey Energy coal
prep site, a Massey Energy Spousal Group member violently assaulted
Goldman Prize Winner and Coal River Mountain Watch Co-Director Judy
Bonds.  The video of the attack is at the bottom of this post:

Judy Bonds, the
victim of the attack and one of the arrestees, later went to the
emergency room. Doctors treated her injuries and gave her medicine and
orders not to return to work until next week.  Coal River Mountain Watch community organizer Lorelei Scarbro, a coal miner’s widow, just barely escaped an assault.

While violent attacks by hired thugs are nothing new in the
coalfields, this act of violence took place by union-busted Massey
Energy supporters, who also used air horns, threatened violence,
shouted obscenities and crowded against event attendees, in blatant
acts of intimidation.

This begs the question: Why is the Obama administration supporting
these violent, union-busting supporters of an outside coal company that
has devastated a region with mountaintop removal operations, plundered
it for record profits in 2008, and then slashed its union-busted
workforce this spring?

“This violent, unprovoked attack demonstrates the tactics Massey
will use to silence and intimidate local residents,” Bonds said.  “This
reminds me of the 1999 reenactment of the Blair Mountain march, in
which coal industry supporters kicked, pushed, and spat on Ken Hechler
and other marchers, including female senior citizens and me.”

“Is this really how we want to represent West Virginia?” asked Coal
River resident Sarah Haltom, one of the arrested protesters. “Gov.
Manchin says to ‘come home to West Virginia,’ but Massey tells us to
either go away or shut up about defending our homes from mountaintop
removal. My husband and I both received threats of violence during the
day.”

In a statement sent via email Friday, Dr. James Hansen, who was near
Bonds at the time of the attack said, “As for the local people, we
found them to be very friendly, and the state police were courteous and
professional. Massey employees were out in force making as much noise
as possible to try to drown out the speakers at the protest.”

“Pro-mountain community activists adhere to principles of
nonviolence, but the coal industry has no such principles,” Coal River
resident Vernon Haltom said. “Pro-coal rally speakers have consistently
used hostile, aggressive and inflammatory language. Last year we asked
Gov. Manchin and others to tone it down.  Instead we are subjected to
violent attacks with the tacit approval of Manchin, Massey CEO Don
Blankenship, West Virginia Coal Association president Bill Raney and
United Mineworkers president Cecil Roberts. Not one of them has
publicly denounced the violence or called for industry supporters to
behave nonviolently.”