In 2013 Ken Ward and Jay O’Hara, with the support of a team on shore, blockaded 40,000 tons of coal being delivered to the Brayton Point generating station in Somerset, Massachusetts – the largest single source of climate changing carbon emissions in the northeast.

The two of us headed to trial intending to offer a climate necessity defense, which had been permitted by the judge. But to our surprise the prosecutor, District Attorney Samuel Sutter, dropped the criminal charges and on the steps of the courthouse in Fall River made a breathtaking statement about climate change, and pledged to join us for the People’s Climate March in New York City in two weeks.

Ken and I have gone on to help found the Climate Disobedience Center and were both subsequently involved in the October 2016 #ShutItDown tar sands valve turning action in four states.

Please enjoy reading through this piece of history on this site!