Ninety-Four Year Old West Virginia Congressman Arrested For Protesting Big Coal

Here's what Jeff Biggers, author of "The United States of Appalachia," is seeing at a peaceful demonstration against mountaintop removal mining in Sundial, WV:

UPDATE: 2:30 EST: 94-year-old Ken Hechler, the legendary West Virginia congressman who has been battling mountaintop removal since 1971 was arrested in a non-violent protest with NASA's celebrated climate scientist James Hansen, actress Daryl Hannah, Michael Brune, the executive director of Rainforest Action Network, and Goldman Prize winner Judy Bonds. Vietnam veteran Bo Webb, and dozens of other coalfield residents were arrested by crossing onto the property of leading mountaintop removal coal mining company, Massey Energy--purposely trespassing to protest the destruction of mountains immediately above the Coal River Valley community.

In the face of recent Obama administration actions to regulate and not abolish mountaintop removal, which has wiped out 500 mountains and destroyed historic communities, the action launched a yearlong national campaign to bring mountaintop removal to an end.