Six  individuals  including  Actor,  James  Cromwell  known  as  The  Wawayanda   Six  were  found  guilty  today  for  disorderly  conduct  while  blockading  a  massive  fossil  fuel   project  approved  by  the  Cuomo  administration.     The  Six  individuals  include  Actor  James  Cromwell,  and  2016  State  Senate  Candidate,   Pramilla  Malick,  along  with  Madeline  Shaw,  Naomi  Miller,  Terri  Klemm,  and  Maureen  Murphy-­ Smolka.  

The  target  of  the  civil  disobedience  action  was  a  massive  650  MW  fracked-­gas  power  plant,   known  as  the  CPV  Valley  Energy  Project  in  Orange  County  NY.    While  Town  Justice  Timothy   P.  McElduff  allowed  the  necessity  defense  pleadings,  he  issued  the  guilty  verdict,  stating  in   his  ruling  that  the  defense  failed  to  prove  “Imminence”.  This  was  despite  the  testimony  of   prominent  public  health  and  climate  change  experts  who  testified  that  the  project  will  effect   irreversible  and  immediate  harm  to  the  public.   The  defense  was  not  surprised  by  the  ruling  citing  conflicts  of  interest  and  had  initially   motioned  Judge  McElduff  to  recuse  himself  due  to  his  close  political  relationship  with   proponents  of  the  project.    

“We  exhausted  all  other  remedies”  said,  Pramilla  Malick,  one  of  the  Wawayanda  Six,  a   mother  of  four  and  an  environmental  activist.    “CPV  and  their  collaborators  in  government  are   the  real  guilty  ones”  she  added,  noting  that  CPV’s  executive  along  with  close  aides  to   Governor  Cuomo  are  now  facing  criminal  bribery  charges  in  Federal  court  for  a  pay-­to-­pay   scheme  involving  the  project.    Despite  the  fact  that  one  aide  has  already  pled  guilty,   construction  has  not  been  halted  by  the  Governor.  The  group  felt  their  actions  had  become   necessary  when  state  agencies  and  government  failed  to  consider  the  climate  change  and   public  health  impacts  of  the  project  

McElduff  also  issued  the  sentence,  a $375  fine  and  16  hours  community  service  which   defense  attorney  Michael  Sussman  plans  to  appeal.  In  response Sussman  said,  “we  agree   with  the  16  hours  community  service  and  believe  it  should  be  served  protesting  the  plant   every  Saturday”,  to  which  the  packed  courtroom  cheered.

 
In  a  press  conference  after  the  ruling  Actor  James  Cromwell  vowed  to  take  jail  time  if  the   sentence  was  not  overturned  on  appeal.     Naomi  Miller,  a  college  professor  and  one  of  the  six  stated  that  her  actions  were  the   equivalent  of  seeing  smoke  in  a  house  and  running  in  to  prevent  a  fire.   The  pleadings  of  the  defendants  were  supported  by  testimony  from  expert  witnesses   including  Professors  Anthony  Ingraffea  and  Robert  Howarth  from  Cornell  University  along   with  Dr.  Larysa  Dyrska  from  Concerned  Health  Professionals  of  New  York.  The  testimony   indicated  that  the  total  Green  House  Gas  emissions  of  the  project  will  be  equal  to  20  million   tons  of  CO2  annually  and  cost  society  $940,000,000  annually  in  damages.   “The  Civil  Disobedience  action  was  an  attempt  to  draw  attention  to  the  contradiction  between   the  state’s  rhetoric  and  real  policies  said  Malick.    “Governor  Cuomo  cannot  claim  to  be  a   climate  leader  and  approve  this  massive  fracked-­gas  power  plant”.   In  explaining  his  actions,  Mr.  Cromwell  said:  "The  extraction  of  fossil  fuels  has  become,  in  this   compromised  environment,  a  crime  against  humanity."