Terry Christenson’s sky-high protest has come to an end, after members of the RCMP's Emergency Response Team scaled a tree to bring him into custody.
The 71-year-old grandpa remains in custody and will appear in court Wednesday morning, facing criminal contempt of court charges for allegedly violating the court injunction meant to prevent interference with work on the Trans Mountain pipeline, according to a Burnaby RCMP spokesperson.
Terry Christenson scaled a tree to protest the Trans Mountain Expansion Project. Photo by Cornelia Naylor.
The grandfather scaled the cottonwood tree early Monday morning to protest the planned expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline.
Christenson told the NOW earlier in the day he intended to give himself up without forcing police to climb the tree, but it appears he changed his mind.“I'm doing it for the grandkids of the world,” Terry Christenson told the NOW by phone from his perch some 30 metres in the sky.
But he said Tuesday morning he was ready to give up his protest to ensure the safety of police. The professional climber said he could see cops struggling to secure a rope around the tree’s trunk as they attempted to climb the tree to arrest him.
“I’m a little concerned,” he said. “I don’t want anyone to get hurt. I’ll probably call it off and live to fight another day.”
The protester said he considers his action successful, as he has brought attention to issue through some 45 media interviews over the last two days.
He said he is ready to be arrested for violating the court injunction meant to prevent interference with operations at Trans Mountain facilities. He also said he wouldn’t be surprised to be charged with mischief as well.
“I didn’t climb the fence, I cut through it, so there will be charges there,” he said.
The RCMP spokesperson said only the contempt of court charges are being recommended at this time.
