MILANVILLE, PA — Sheila Dugan, 86, was arrested on Friday, March 21 during attempts to disrupt the demolition of the Skinners Falls Bridge.

At 8:45 a.m., Dugan went past barriers and signs preventing entry to the Pennsylvania side of the bridge, and entered an active work zone, according to the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP). PSP arrested her, processed her at the PSP barracks in Honesdale and released her.

She was charged with criminal trespass and disorderly conduct.

Dugan has a long history of activism, participating in marches in the ‘60s and ‘70s; she worked as an independent attorney, often representing the underprivileged and the underserved, and represented Native American activist Leonard Peltier.

She told the River Reporter she feels very close to the bridge, in part because she lives in the historic Skinner family home. 

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) plans to demolish the historic Skinners Falls Bridge, saying that it is badly deteriorated and at risk of imminent collapse. PennDOT says the bridge will come down mid-April.

People living around the bridge have protested PennDOT's decision since it was announced in December 2024, saying that the bridge can still be restored, and have presented plans for its restoration.

Dugan doesn't like the idea that PennDOT is trying to tear down the Skinners Falls Bridge, and she believes it can still be fixed. "And so I just decided to protest," she said.

Dugan said she plans to continue protesting.

"The point hasn't been made," she said. She added she'll go out "tomorrow, if I can," and will continue to go in succeeding days. "Whatever it takes."

While Dugan did go out the next day and participate in the ‘Standing for Skinners’ bridge event, at which participants were photographed with the bridge, she did not tresspass onto the bridge, says event organizer Cynthia Nash.

Prior to her arrest, Dugan went to the Skinners Falls Bridge on Wednesday, March 19 and Thursday, March 20, each day saying that she was trying to disrupt the work to demolish the bridge, according to a PSP news release. She left of her own accord. 

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Editor's note: A quote has been removed from this article as of 4:30 p.m. on Monday, March 24, due to concerns from Dugan's family about its accuracy. Additional contextual information was added to the article at that same time.