"Three states have moved toward enacting criminal penalties for protesting against fossil fuels amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) was the first to enact such a law, signing legislation earlier this month designating “natural gas or petroleum pipelines [as] key infrastructure assets,” and making “tampering with, impeding, or inhibiting operations of a key infrastructure asset [a] criminal mischief in the first degree.”

South Dakota Gov. Kirsti Noem (R) followed suit when on March 18 she signed into law legislation that would include oil, gas or utility equipment as “critical infrastructure,” and another bill classifying a felony “riot” as “intentional use of force or violence by three or more persons” that causes “any damage to property.”

West Virginia was the latest state to curb fossil fuel protests when Gov. Jim Justice (R) backed legislation assigning critical infrastructure status to oil, gas and pipeline facilities and imposing fines of up to $25,000 on substantial damage on the sites."

Tal Axelrod reports for The Hill March 27, 2020. [2]