LYNNWOOD — Five climate activists were convicted Friday of a misdemeanor trespassing charge in Snohomish County District Court over their protest at the Delta train yard in Everett on Sept. 2, 2014.
A six-member jury acquitted the three men and two women on a separate charge of blocking a train. The defendants included Jackie Minchew and Mike LaPointe of Everett.
Judge Anthony Howard sentenced the defendants to a 90-day suspended sentence. Four were given a $200 fine, except for one defendant with limited financial means.
On Thursday, the judge denied the activists the opportunity to use a necessity defense, saying there were reasonable and legal alternative methods available to bring attention to global warming besides breaking the law. The activists were trying to highlight specific physical and environmental threats posed by shipments of Bakken crude oil and coal along BNSF Railway tracks though Western Washington.
The weeklong trial attracted an unusual amount of attention, with 70 or more spectators packing the courtroom beyond capacity daily. Supporters created a website, www.delta5trial.org, and tweeted about the trial under the hashtags #delta5 and #climatetrial. Numerous media outlets and at least two documentary film crews covered the proceedings.
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