About two dozen protesters were arrested Monday in Philadelphia after they blocked entrances to a federal office building to protest the Keystone XL oil pipeline.
About 40 protesters stood in front of the doors to the William J. Green Building, according to an AP report.
Another 100 people sang, chanted and waved signs in support of the civil disobedience, the report said.
“The actions were “a preview of the resistance to come” if President Barack Obama’s administration approves the $5.3 billion project, said Alexa Ross, spokeswoman for Earth Quaker Action Team, which organized the demonstration,” according to the AP.
Earlier this month, police in Washington, D.C. arrested about 400 Keystone XL protesters after they attached themselves to the White House fence with plastic ties.
About 1,000 protesters took part in the Washington demonstration.
“The proposed 1,179-mile pipeline from Canada to Texas would create jobs and reduce the need to import oil from politically volatile countries, say supporters, who include lawmakers from both major political parties and many business and labor groups,” the AP said.
The Keystone XL pipeline project is owned by TransCanada Corp.
If constructed along its full length, the $5.4 billion pipeline would transport crude from Alberta’s oil sands to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Eileen Flanagan, one of the protesters in Philadelphia, said the pipeline “poses serious environmental hazards, such as carrying ‘dirty oil’ that contributes to global warming, the AP said.
President Obama is expected to make a decision on Keystone XL within a few weeks.
