Activists Arrested at Stephens Creek
Written by Andrew-Rossi on March 8, 2018
A judge has ordered three bison activists arrested in Yellowstone National Park to be detained until at least Monday.
Thomas Brown of Hardwick, Vermont; Cody Cyson of Minnetonka, Minnesota; and Hanna Ponder of Donnelly, Idaho, appeared Wednesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Carman at the Yellowstone Justice Center.
All three have been cited for entering a closed area, which is a misdemeanor. Brown and Cyson were also cited for interfering with agency functions. The US District Attorney’s office says that Cyson and Brown used a steel tube and chain to secure themselves to the squeeze chute Tuesday in order to disrupt the shipping of the buffalo in the pens.
Ponder was arrested in a separate incident, having been found by law enforcement in the bison closure of the Reese Creek drainage area. She stated she had been walking the creek looking at birds.
All three are affiliated with an advocacy group called Wild Buffalo Defense that seeks to draw attention to the slaughter of bison.
This was the third criminal act at Stephens Creek in the last seven weeks. A statement from Yellowstone officials say that the three were caught and arrested quickly due to increased security measures that the park took following the previous incidents.
