Twenty-five protesters arrested last summer for disrupting operations at an oil sands operation in eastern Utah have been sentenced.
A Uintah County judge accepted no-contest pleas from the 25 dissenters, two of whom attended the hearing in Vernal on Thursday. The other protesters entered their pleas through sworn documents filed with the court.
Each demonstrator was sentenced to community service, which Uintah County Attorney Mark Thomas said ranged from 40 to 120 hours.
The 25 protestors were arrested in July and September for disrupting operations at an oil sands mine in the Book Cliffs area.
Utah Tar Sands Resistance spokeswoman Raphael Cordray said the reason all 25 protesters entered no-contest pleas is that it allows them to continue their opposition to the development of the mine.
“The deal that they were given seemed pretty reasonable to the people involved. Because they took the deal, it frees up our group to focus on our real mission, which is to stop these tar sands and oil shale projects from moving forward in that area,” she said.
Cordray added the demonstrators would return to the mine in the spring when weather conditions are more favorable to outdoor protests.
The Uintah County Sheriff’s Office said members of the group locked themselves onto machinery and blocked law-enforcement vehicles.
Uintah County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Lt. John Laursen said the Sheriff’s Office had made no preparations for future demonstrations. He added that although law enforcement officers respect a right to protest, they are also responsible for protecting private property like the oil sands site.