US judge rules Greenpeace in contempt for Oregon protest

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A federal judge in Alaska has ordered Greenpeace USA to pay a fine of $2,500 for every hour that protesters continue to block a Royal Dutch Shell icebreaker from leaving Portland, Oregon, for the Arctic.

U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason ruled Thursday in Anchorage that Greenpeace is in civil contempt because of protesters dangling off a bridge in Portland, whom she said impeded the Shell vessel.

Gleason in May granted Shell’s request that activists protesting Shell’s Arctic drilling plans be ordered to stay away from Shell vessels and beyond buffer zones.