At Hearing on “Fracking,” Capitol Police Arrest Director of “Gasland“

On Wednesday, House Republicans ordered Capitol police to arrest Josh Fox, director of the Academy Award-nominated documentary “Gasland,” along with his crew. The group was attempting to film a meeting of the House Subcommittee on Energy and Environment that was to discuss hydraulic fracturing, also known as “fracking.”

A statement issued by Fox, following his arrest, indicates that he was aware that his decision to not turn off his cameras was an act of civil disobedience: “… at the moment when they told me to turn off the cameras, I could not. I know my rights and I felt it was imperative to exercise them. “

Fox faces a court hearing on February 15 on charges of “unlawful entry.” As an independent filmmaker, Fox called on congress to make all meetings and hearings accessible to independent journalists.

“The truth that fracking contaminates groundwater is out, and no amount of intimidation tactics – either outright challenges to science or the arrest of journalists – will put the genie back in the bottle,” he stated.

This is not the first time that Fox has faced pressure against his efforts to bring attention to the topic of “fracking.” Read his open letter to journalists regarding the pushback he received from the gas industry on his film.

Also, gain more insight into Fox and his work by reading Truthout’s interview with him where he discusses that opposition to “fracking” doesn’t need to be a partisan issue:

“This cuts across any partisan political lines. In ‘Gasland,’ you have people from red states and blue states; you got red people and blue people and all kinds of people in between. It was never in my mind divisive, the way one takes a political stand. It was always common sense. As we run out of fossil fuels, the fossil fuel companies instead of doing the rational thing of moving our whole world over to renewable energy, have gone in the opposite direction and gotten even more desperate and extreme in their business model to go after things ever more risky and dangerous.”

Read the entire interview:

“The Battle for America’s Backyard: An Interview With ‘Gasland’ Director Josh Fox.”