Sentencing held for anti-pipeline activists over game of dinosaur badminton at TMX construction site
An image of the protest from the "T.Rex against TMX legal defence fund" fundraising page. (fundrazr.com)
Two anti-pipeline activists have been sentenced to jail time over a disruptive game of badminton played last May.
Supporters gathered outside B.C. Supreme Court in downtown Vancouver on Friday morning in support of Emily Kelsall and May Laframboise ahead of their sentencing.
Kelsall led participants in a chant before entering the courthouse.
“When I saw stop, you say TMX," Kelsall told the crowd. “And when I say long live, you say T-Rex.”
The two women, both 24, were wearing Tyrannosaurus Rex costumes when they were arrested in Burnaby on May 11 for obstructing construction on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project, violating a court-ordered injunction.
Shortly before 2 p.m., the group T. Rex against TMX posted a tweet reading: “This is T-Rex’s last tweet before going to prison #stoptmx.”
In a statement Friday afternoon, anti-pipeline activist group Protect the Planet said Kelsall and Laframboise had each been sentenced to 21 days in prison.
"Kelsall received an additional 7 days for donning a dinosaur head mask and defiantly roaring at the judge at the conclusion of her court appearance," the statement reads.
The pair was also ordered to pay a total of $1,240 in restitution to Trans Mountain, according to Protect the Planet.
Both women had been charged with criminal contempt, according to an online fundraiser titled “T.Rex against TMX legal defence fund.”
“These dinos are eco justice warriors with a deep understanding of the threat of extinction posed by climate change, dedicated to protecting the land and water for future generations by keeping our bones (bitumen) in the ground,” reads the campaign page, which suggests $6,447.00 has been raised to date.
Video of the pair’s prehistoric protest is still available online.
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