Monkeywrencher, Tim DeChristopher, will serve two years in prison after being found guilty in March of two felony counts of sabatoging a gas and oil lease auction in 2008. DeChristopher disrupted the sale of gas drilling leases by successfully bidding on a dozen parcels (most notably some near Arches National Park) that he never intended to pay for in order to disrupt the process in protest of climate change.
After the sentence was handed down by the judge, DeChristopher was immediately taken away to the Davis County Jail. Outside the courtroom, supporters and environmentalists gathered to chant, play drums, and engage in civil disobedience by disrupting TRAX trains and rush-hour traffic flow by sitting in the middle of the street.
Supporters say DeChristopher is on the right side of history because of his actions, and that two years behind bars is a small price to pay for environmental protection. Beyond climate change as the issue for DeChristopher’s activism, the disrupted auction also involved parcels that if developed into drilling sites, would have ruined the landscape around some of Utah’s most beautiful country. These parcels threatened world-famous views; icons like Delicate Arch could have included a towering, metal drilling rig in the distance.
Federal prosecuters are happy with the judge’s sentence, although U.S. Attorney Carlie Christensen said that DeChristopher’s stunt cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“He sabotaged a lawful auction. He falsely represented that he was a bidder when he was not.”
DeChristopher has said all along that he is prepared for prison time, and he does not regret his actions whatsoever.
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