Dave Vasey, Wolfgang Chapkro & Trish Mills inside a self-constructed cage
Update: It’s been confirmed that Dave Vasey, Trish Mills and Wolfgang Chapkro were arrested. Mills is currently on probation for last year’s protest.
An alert came out a short while ago that the OPP have delivered an injunction to the protesters who occupied an Enbridge construction site near Innerkip, Ontario. The protesters have been on site since Tuesday morning- complaining about perceived issues with Enbridge’s maintenance procedures while halting efforts to improve the pipeline.
Things haven’t gone so well for the Line 9 crowd during their last few occupations. In addition to not getting as much support as they’re used to, the media has cut-back their coverage of the protester’s antics. The problem was demonstrated this morning when Line 9 protesters sent an email asking their followers to contact the Toronto Star and ask why they’ve not been covering this week’s protest. (Perhaps they should reach out to Antonia Zerbias?)
So, when you’re a group of attention seeking anarchists and nobody’s paying attention, what next? The secret is to find some way to add some sparks to catch the world’s attention. Their solution? Simple, ask the OPP to make the sparks for them! At least two of the Line 9 protesters have jumped in to “badass mode”.
Dave Vasey and “Wolfgang Chapkro” appear to be locked-up in the cage…
Badass mode is the phase of a protest where individuals decide to chain/lock/secure themselves to make it as difficult as possible for police to remove them. To some, the badasses are to be appreciated- people so dedicated to their cause that they’re willing to engage in self-destructive activity to show it. To others, it just looks self-destructive, an unlikely to pay-off with a positive result. The sparks will come when the OPP cut them out.
The protester’s latest email release says that two activists have locked down to prevent eviction from the site. The email names one of the badasses, Wolfgang Chapkro, but not the other. A picture they included (above) shows Chapkro and Dave Vasey locked to a couple barrels- Trish Mills is inside the cage, she’s currently under court order to be no closer than 200 meters from Enbridge property.
Vasey was the first person to get arrested during the Toronto G20. But since then he’s spent more time leading others to getting arrested. Vasey’s been criticised for walking away from protests (that he led) while others get arrested. It will be interesting to see if he’s really taking the plunge this time. So far, it’s been reported that three people have been arrested.
More to come as details come to light. For more about the history and people behind the Line 9 protests, check-out Part I of Line 9 Protests Unmasked. More to come soon as new information comes available, and stay-tuned for Part II…
