Aug 18, 2017 -"WOMEN ADMIT PIPELINE SABOTAGE" by Tom Cullen, Storm Lake Iowa Times
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Frank Cordaro
Aug 26, 2017, 3:51:20 PM8/26/17
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2017, Aug 18 -"WOMEN ADMIT PIPELINE SABOTAGE" by Tom Cullen, Storm Lake Iowa Times
WOMEN ADMIT PIPELINE SABOTAGE
Submitted by on Fri, 08/18/2017 - 10:06am
They say they are ready to spend the rest of their lives in prison
They approach their vandalism with a Biblical apocalyptic vision
BY TOM CULLEN
Ruby Montoya and Jessica Reznicek believe they were helping residents in Buena Vista County for setting over $1 million in pipeline construction equipment ablaze in November.
In an interview with The Storm Lake Times Wednesday, Montoya, 27, and Reznicek, 36, admitted to “burning pipeline equipment in northern Buena Vista County” last April. Reznicek, a resident of Des Moines and a Dallas County native, said they burned over $1 million of equipment owned by Precision Pipeline of Eau Claire, Wis., with “every ounce of love” in their hearts.
“I was born and raised in Dallas County. I love the people of Iowa, Buena Vista County included,” Reznicek said over the phone at the tail end of a camping trip in Minnesota. “Iowans resisted the pipeline from the beginning… They’re tired of seeing our waterways destroyed by industry.”
Montoya cited the books of Genesis and Revelation — the first and last books of the Bible — as moral justification for the vandalism. Montoya and Reznicek live at the Des Moines Catholic Worker House.
“In Genesis, God gave us dominion over the Earth. In Revelation, those who destroyed the Earth destroyed their souls,” Montoya said. “From the beginning it’s our duty to be stewards of the Earth. I couldn’t think of a worse case of poor stewardship than this pipeline.”
In the women’s eyes, the only form of cosmic justice is for the $3.8 billion pipeline to be removed from the ground. And they believe it will be removed soon enough. They believe the Earth is so contaminated that divine intervention could come sooner rather than later.
“Extinction is on the table,” Montoya said. “We’re acting in the 11th Hour, where there’s desecration of God’s great Earth. Turn on the news. The chaos is real.”
The women plotted to thwart construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline just before Election Day last November, as opponents were handed defeats at every level of government. Since fall 2016, federal courts and state regulators approved the seizure of hundreds of acres of land to construct the 1,300-mile pipeline from North Dakota through northwest Iowa to a distribution hub in Illinois.
Reznicek and Montoya were determined to stop the pipeline by any means necessary. The women claimed they explored the entire administrative process to block the pipeline before the incident in Buena Vista County, including public commentary hearings, hunger strikes, gathering signatures for environmental impact statements, boycotts and encampments.
“Jessica and I acted out of necessity,” Montoya said. “We were removed from our nonviolent protests. We were abused by private, thuggish security firms and local law enforcement was complicit.”
The women maintain the arsons were another form of nonviolent protest because they were destroying property that was desecrating the Earth.
“Our actions were targeted,” Montoya said. “We burned equipment (in Buena Vista County). We made sure the area was safe with no debris that could’ve caught fire… We burned property that was owned by a faceless corporation.”
The two women announced July 24 they were the culprits in multiple pipeline vandalisms throughout Iowa and South Dakota. They said in a joint press conference in front of the Iowa Utilities Board headquarters they researched how to pierce steel pipe used for pipelines. In March, they claimed they were cutting exposed pipeline valves with oxyacetylene cutting torches and torching pipeline equipment with a cocktail of motor oil and gasoline.
On Friday, FBI agents raided their home on Indiana Avenue and seized evidence to corroborate the arson, according to the Catholic Worker House’s spokesman Frank Cordaro.
They refused to admit how many arsons they committed or clarify their tactics, as federal authorities are ramping up their investigation into them and their network.
“We have no new comment at this time,” Reznicek said. “We issued a statement in July. I’ll leave it at that.”
The statement reads the women started their vandalisms in Buena Vista County and continued to Mahaska County and South Dakota. The women then moved to unsecured valves across the pipeline in Iowa until they ran out of supplies. It’s unclear whether the women committed the second arson to the pipeline in Buena Vista County that was only four miles northeast of their first vandalism.
The women aren’t planning any further action to derail the pipeline. Their only avenue left to battle it is by remaining free.
“We’re focusing on the legal system at this time,” Reznicek said. “We’re fighting via court solidarity. We’re going to see federal indictments soon.”
Alex Cohen, a spokesman for the women, told The Times on Monday the women have already lined up a legal team and are bracing for years of legal battles in federal court.
FBI spokesman Huston Pullen told The Times he has no comment on an active investigation. He would only confirm that law enforcement activity occurred on Indiana Avenue.
It’s unclear how long the investigation and subsequent criminal proceedings could last. Law enforcement officials told The Times agents could search the women’s network to uncover a broader conspiracy to vandalize the pipeline. It’s also unclear what indictments federal officials could return. Prosecutors could seek domestic terrorism charges that would land both women in federal prison for the rest of their lives.
The women are unfazed by the prospect of spending their lives behind bars. They are ready to be martyrs for the Earth.
“We believe the penalties for our actions are small and inconsequential when you look at the planet as a whole,” Montoya said. “Our duty as Christians is to do the right thing in the face of an expanding, oppressive corporate empire.”
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Frank Cordaro
Jess & Ruby - Mississippi Stand page & info....
Donate to Jess and Ruby's deffense fund:
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FC's posting of Jess and Ruby's post coming out confessions July 24 - Aug 13, 2017
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