Actress Daryl Hannah arrested in Keystone pipeline protest

Actress Daryl Hannah was arrested in Texas on Thursday after she stood in front of an earth-moving machine clearing ground for the construction of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, her representative said.

The protest took place outside Winnsboro, Texas, about 130 kilometres east of Dallas, said Hannah’s agent, Paul Bassis.

Hannah, 51, a longtime environmental activist, was arrested last year outside the White House in another protest against the pipeline. The Keystone XL pipeline, a project of TransCanada Corp, would ship more than half a million barrels a day of oil sands-derived crude to the Texas Gulf Coast from Canada.

On Thursday, Hannah stood in front of an excavator being used to clear trees and brush in order to build the pipeline, Bassis said. Joining her was the site’s property owner, Eleanor Fairchild, 78, whose land was taken by eminent domain for the project, he said.

“Ms Hannah and Ms Fairchild were defending Ms Fairchild’s property from eminent domain abuse by TransCanada,” Bassis said.

A spokeswoman for the Wood County Sheriff’s Office said no officials were available to discuss the incident.