A jury Thursday found Henry Harris not guilty of trespassing at Vermont Gas’ South Burlington headquarters at a protest in May.
During the protest, the 36-year-old Plainfield man, dressed in a shirt and tie, entered the building and went up on the roof, where he dropped a 300-square-foot banner protesting the pipeline. He was arrested and charged on July 25. He argued he was not trespassing because no one asked him to leave the building.
The rally, organized by Rising Tide Vermont and 350.org, was aimed at halting construction of a 41-mile pipeline extension. At the event, about 20 protesters were issued trespass citations and one person was arrested, according to South Burlington police.
Harris said on Friday that he can now engage in more acts of civil disobedience against the pipeline without complicating the status of the trespassing charge. However, he said there are no protests planned in the immediate future.
“The cold weather is going to keep the hundreds of people to a minimum,” he said, referencing the last protest where hundreds of protesters rallied outside the governor’s office in Montpelier and 64 people were issued trespass citations.
Beth Parent, a spokeswoman for Vermont Gas, said the company trusts the state’s judicial system no matter what the outcome is. She said the company will be reviewing its protocols to ensure that employees are safe.
‘We just want to ensure that this doesn’t happen again,” she said.
