BLM Auction Goes On In Lakewood Despite Protest
LAKEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Protesters tried to disrupt a federal auction of drilling rights in suburban Denver on Thursday but the sale went on as planned.
About 200 people turned out to protest the Bureau of Land Management sale at a hotel in Lakewood. Some managed to get inside the lobby where they shouted things like "this is what democracy looks like" as police kept watch and prevented them from going any farther. The officers, anticipating arrests, carried plastic handcuffs but Detective Tim Marquez says protesters dispersed on their own and no one was arrested.
The protest was part of the "Keep it in the Ground" movement, aimed at stopping the Obama administration from granting any new leases to develop fossil fuels.
Tim Ream of WildEarth says the administration isn't considering the impact of the sales on climate change.
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