Mississippi Sets Penalties for Protests Near Oil, Gas Pipelines

Mississippi has designated properties with oil and gas equipment as “critical infrastructure,” making trespassing on those sites a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in prison, under a new law signed Thursday by Gov. Tate Reeves (R).

About a dozen other states have passed similar laws to limit protests near oil or gas pipelines and other infrastructure, including laws enacted earlier this year in Kentucky, South Dakota, and West Virginia, according to the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law.

Knowingly trespassing on any property with oil, gas, or chemical pipelines or tanks violates the Mississippi law, which takes effect ...