(WBNG Binghamton) An act of civil disobedience during a hearing Wednesday on hydraulic fracturing lands "Gasland" Director Josh Fox in jail.
The director of the critically acclaimed documentary against
hydraulic fracturing was booted from a House committee hearing on the topic and arrested.
Fox called the move by the committee chairman an abuse of the system.
He intended to film a House subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill on hydraulic fracturing and water contamination in Wyoming.
Before the meeting began, Fox was ordered to stop filming and leave. When he refused, he was handcuffed, held for three hours and released without bond.
He faces one charge of unlawful entry, a misdemeanor. He's due in court in Washington D.C. Feb. 15.
The Energy and Environment Subcommittee defended its actions Wednesday, saying Fox did not have the proper press credentials, which committee rules require.
Fox maintains his First Amendment right was violated, considering the hearing was open to the public.
He said the issue of fracking has become more than environmental; that it's growing more and political as time passes.
"What this shows is not only the committee attacking the science of the EPA, but they were also attacking another investigator, who was me who was seeking to report on the truth," Fox said.
"It's fairly clear that this was absolutely 100 percent political. This has nothing to do with the rules and procedures or anything of the sort. It's outright abuse of the system."
The committee says the hearings are streamed live through its website, and an archived version is made available to anyone who visits the site.
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