Why 2 Protesters Disrupted Monday Night Football

They were protesting a proposed natural gas plant
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 3, 2015 6:21 AM CST
Updated Nov 3, 2015 6:41 AM CST
Why 2 Protesters Disrupted Monday Night Football
Two protesters hang from a banner they unfurled from the upper deck of Bank of America stadium in Charlotte, NC, on Monday.   (AP Photo/Mike McCarn)

Monday night's football game between the Colts and the Panthers included a surprise appearance from two protesters who rappelled from the upper deck of Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC, and unfurled a banner about, yes, Bank of America. More specifically, the banner urged the bank to "Dump Dominion," referring to the energy company, reports USA Today. The protesters were making a point against a proposed natural gas facility that Dominion is seeking federal approval to build at Maryland's Cove Point, reports the Baltimore Sun. "We Are Cove Point activists are now calling on Bank of America and other lending institutions to stop financing Dominion," says the activist group in a statement on its website.

The News & Observer says the protesters were a man and a woman in full rappel gear, and the group identifies them as John Nicholson and Rica Madrid. "America doesn't need more cheap fuel on the market, and we especially don't need to export those resources overseas," says a statement from Madrid. Both were arrested after the third-quarter stunt, and the group is seeking donations for their bail. Dominion has said previously that critics are distorting facts about the proposed plant, insisting that it will be environmentally safe and create jobs and revenue, notes the Sun. (More Bank of America stories.)

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