Houston Chronicle energy reporter Ryan Holeywell tweeted Gov. John Hickenlooper’s claim that anti-fracking activists attacked his car while he attended a meeting:
Hickenlooper says at one point, on the way from a meeting, his car was beaten by anti-fracking activists while he was inside #CERAWeek
— Ryan Holeywell (@RyanHoleywell) March 5, 2014
This video from 2012 shows anti-fracking activists yelling at Hickenlooper while he walks to his car:
In December 2012, Energy Center Policy Director Amy Oliver gathered some of the most outrageous behavior in a post about the hate-fueled rants of those opposed to the extraction method.
In one of the more confrontational videos, anti-fracking activists can be seen and heard verbally abused Encana representative Wendy Wiedenbeck after her presentation to Boulder County Commissioners, yelling “Killers!”
Another shouted, “Never come back to our community!” (pick up at about the 6:00 mark):
Encana representative Wendy Wiedenbeck speaks at Boulder County Court House hearing from 23rd Studios on Vimeo.
The abuse was so appalling, the Boulder County commissioners issued this statement the next day:
The Boulder County Board of Commissioners deeply disapproves of the conduct of certain individuals who came to disrupt the public hearing on proposed Land Use Code regulations for oil and gas development in unincorporated Boulder County last night.
As a county, we have a long history of respecting the First Amendment rights of all, and as a Board we greatly respect and appreciate the opinions and information which was brought forth at the hearing and for the respect and conduct of the majority of attendees once the hearing was underway.
The troubling activities last night included the disruption at the beginning of the hearing by a group of individuals intent on overpowering anyone in the room with an opinion different than their own; the jeering of a spokesperson from the oil and gas industry during her testimony – and mob harassment, cursing at and intimidation of the same representative and her colleagues as they left the building and walked several blocks to their cars; a bullying atmosphere in and around the hearing room; and outbursts of cheering for threatening rhetoric aimed at quashing opposing opinions.
