Environmental activists are demanding an investigation into the alleged beating of 21 year old Dustin Steele, a mountaintop removal mining protester. Steele is a Matewan native who now lives in Blair. He and 19 other protestors were arrested Saturday after a RAMPS, Radical Action for Mountain People's Survival, demonstration at Patriot Coal's Hobet Mine. Steele claims he was dragged across asphalt outside the Madison State Police detachment, then punched and kicked by several troopers. He says he has abrasions on his back and deep bruises on his ribs and thighs, but the injuries have only strengthened his commitment. Sgt. Michael Baylous says State Police officials have received no complaint from Steele, so they're not doing an internal investigation. Several groups have asked Attorney General Darrell McGraw to investigate the incident, but in West Virginia, the attorney general has no investigative or prosecutorial powers in criminal matters. RAMPS claims another veteran protester was dragged away from the scene by her hair.
RAMPS posted a 9-minute "Mountain Mobilization" video on YouTube Wednesday morning that shows protesters being forced to walk for miles to their caravan of vehicles while other motorists are allowed to pass. The video also shows counter-protesters in blue mining uniforms with fluorescent stripes lining the road in some places, forming a blockade and following along in vehicles. Protesters interviewed for the video accused the State Police of putting them in an unsafe situation.
