Heather Doyle

Released

Full name:Heather Glasgow Doyle

Gender:Female

Race:White

Era:2010s

State:Maryland

Time Imprisoned:

1 Month 16 Days

Support

Environmental Activism Greenpeace

Biography

Climate and anti-extraction activist from Maryland affiliated with the SEED Coalition (Stopping Extraction and Exports Destruction). On February 3, 2015, Doyle and co-activist Carling Sothoron climbed a construction crane at the Dominion Resources Cove Point LNG export terminal on the Chesapeake Bay in Calvert County, Maryland, hanging a banner opposing LNG exports and fracking in Maryland. Cove Point was one of the first East Coast LNG export terminals. The Calvert County Sheriff received $1.5 million annually from Dominion to fund deputies who provided security at the site — the same deputies who arrested her. Charged with criminal trespass, Doyle pleaded guilty in April 2015 and chose to serve 40 days at Calvert County Detention Center rather than accept probation, explaining she did not want conditions restricting her future protest activity. After her release, she filed a formal complaint alleging a deputy choked her during the crane arrest. Prosecutors then charged her with making a false statement to a police officer. She was found guilty at jury trial on May 27, 2016 and sentenced to an additional 15 days in jail (3 months with all but 15 suspended), 240 hours of community service, and 2 years supervised probation. Her total incarceration across both cases was approximately 55 days.

Heather Glasgow Doyle, age 35, of Albuquerque NM, Greenpeace 28 - September 2019 Houston Ship Channel bridge rappel.

Cases

Charges: Aiding and abetting obstruction of navigable waters (federal), alongside state allegations of criminal trespass, obstructing a highway and disrupting critical infrastructure.

Arrested: Sep 12, 2019

Incarcerated: Sep 12, 2019

Released: Sep 14, 2019

Sentence: No prison sentence. Held from the September 12, 2019 arrest until September 14, when the defendants appeared in federal court, pleaded not guilty and were released on personal-recognizance bonds. The remaining state misdemeanors were resolved by a 2021 agreement under which each defendant paid $250 in court costs and Greenpeace reimbursed emergency-response expenses; in May 2022 all 22 defendants entered federal deferred-prosecution agreements leading to dismissal. Verdict as recorded: No — a Texas grand jury declined to approve the felony critical-infrastructure cases; the state misdemeanors and the federal charges were both dismissed under agreements Charges as recorded: Aiding and abetting obstruction of navigable waters (federal), alongside state allegations of criminal trespass, obstructing a highway and disrupting critical infrastructure — the September 12, 2019 Greenpeace blockade of the Houston Ship Channel from the Fred Hartman Bridge.

Convicted: No — charges dismissed

Plead: Not guilty

Calvert County Detention Center

Charges: Criminal trespass; climbed construction crane at Dominion Cove Point LNG terminal February 3, 2015 with co-activist Carling Sothoron to hang anti-LNG banner

Arrested: Feb 3, 2015

Incarcerated: Apr 20, 2015

Sentence: 40 days Calvert County Detention Center (chose jail over probation to preserve future protest rights)

Convicted: Yes

Institution State: Maryland

Calvert County Detention Center

Charges: Making a false statement to a police officer; filed misconduct complaint alleging a deputy choked her during the crane arrest

Arrested: May 27, 2016

Incarcerated: May 27, 2016

Sentence: 3 months jail (all but 15 days suspended); 240 hours community service; 2 years supervised probation

Convicted: Yes

Institution State: Maryland

Calvert County Detention Center

Charges: Trespassing.

Arrested: Feb 3, 2015

Sentence: Arrested on the site and held at the Calvert County Detention Center pending a hearing before a commissioner. The date of that initial release has not been documented, so no release date is recorded here and this episode adds no days to the total. Verdict as recorded: Yes — pleaded guilty to trespass Charges as recorded: Trespassing — the February 3, 2015 occupation of a crane at the Dominion Cove Point LNG construction site in Lusby, Maryland, a banner action against liquefied natural gas exports and fracking, carried out with Carling Sothoron.

Convicted: Yes

Plead: Guilty (entered April 20, 2015)

Institution State: Maryland

Calvert County Detention Center

Charges: Trespassing — sentencing on the Cove Point crane action, at which she chose immediate confinement.

Sentenced: Apr 20, 2015

Incarcerated: Apr 20, 2015

Released: May 23, 2015

Sentence: Sentenced to 40 days and taken into custody the same day. Later reporting says she physically served 33 days, which places release around May 23, 2015; no contemporary notice confirms the exact calendar date, so the release date here is approximate. Verdict as recorded: Yes — guilty plea, April 20, 2015 Charges as recorded: Trespassing — sentencing on the Cove Point crane action, at which she chose immediate confinement over a suspended sentence with probation.

Convicted: Yes

Plead: Guilty

Institution State: Maryland

Calvert County Detention Center

Charges: Making a false statement to law enforcement.

Sentenced: May 27, 2016

Incarcerated: May 27, 2016

Released: Jun 7, 2016

Sentence: Three months imprisonment, all but 15 days suspended, plus 240 hours of community service, two years of supervised probation and court costs. Taken into custody directly from the courtroom on May 27; SEED announced she was free on June 7, 2016, so about 11 days were actually served. Verdict as recorded: Yes — jury verdict, May 27, 2016; affirmed by the Maryland Court of Special Appeals on July 13, 2017 Charges as recorded: Making a false statement to law enforcement — charged after she complained that an officer had choked her during the Cove Point crane arrest.

Convicted: Yes

Plead: Not guilty

Institution State: Maryland

Heather Doyle

Biography

Cases

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