Tar Sands Pipeline Protesters Tortured by the Police in Texas

A couple of days back, two people peacefully protesting the construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline were abused by local authorities who wished to clear the path for workers to be able to carry on with their daily routine.

This is not the first time when members of the Tar Sans Blockade have a run-in with the police. Thus, not long ago, we reported on how seven of them got arrested after they chained themselves to a truck carrying supplies for the oil pipeline's construction sites.

Sources inform us that the police only abused Shannon Beebe and Benjamin Franklin because TransCanada, the Canadian oil company in charge of the Keystone XL pipeline project, asked them to do so.

More precisely, a TransCanada supervisor arrived at the spot and demanded that the police use violence in order to deal with these protesters and keep them from further impeding construction activities.

“Immediately following TransCanada’s consultation, law enforcement handcuffed the protesters’ free hands to the heavy machinery in stress positions and then subjected to repeated torture tactics by four police officers while TransCanada employees stood by and watched,” explains the Tar Sands Blockade.

Apparently, Shannon Beebe and Benjamin Franklin were subjected to practices such as chokeholds, arm-twisting, pepper spraying and tasering, and the two had no possibility of defending themselves due to the fact that they were in handcuffs.

Shortly after this ordeal was over, Benjamin Franklin made a case of how, “Despite everything that happened at the direction of TransCanada, I don’t regret my involvement at all. I encourage everyone to persevere in the face of this type of sheer brutality.”

Furthermore, “To follow one’s moral compass in spite of extreme challenges is the way we move forward towards a more humane, tar sands-free planet.”

In case anyone was wondering, the people living in Texas are so determined to put an end to the Keystone XL oil pipeline project both because of the environmental risks associated with it, and because construction plans could force many to move out of their homes and seek refuge someplace else.