PennEast workers threatened by gun-toting man, cops say

Holland Township man charged with making terroristic threats and weapons offenses

HOLLAND TOWNSHIP - A township man was arrested and charged with making terroristic threats and weapons offenses after threatening a group of surveyors from the PennEast pipeline company, authorities said.

Lester R. Kinney, 48, brandished a gun and threatened three subcontractors conducting a wildlife survey for the PennEast Pipeline. Kinney's bail was set at $5,000, according to the Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office.

"People are free to protest and voice their opinions on the pipeline project or any other issue, but it must be conducted in a lawful manner," Anthony P. Kearns III, Hunderdon county prosecutor, said.

The contractors were parked on Milford-Warren Glen Road when Kinney approached them, holding a rifle. Kinney asked them if they were with the PennEast Pipeline. They said yes and Kinney waived the rifle in the air, shouting in opposition to the project and vowing to stop it, according to a release from PennEast.

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"PennEast is committed to safety, which starts with ensuring the well-being of our team members, who simply are doing their jobs on properties where we have landowner permission," Peter Terranova, chair of the PennEast board of managers, said in the release. "We are thankful our team was able to return safely to their families without escalation of the situation." 

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with additional information is requested to contact the Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office Major Crimes Unit at 908-788-1129.

The PennEast pipeline, a 118-mile, 36-inch natural gas conduit planned to run from the Marcellus Shale region of Northeast Pennsylvania to Hopewell Township in Mercer County, has been vehemently opposed in New Jersey. Two thirds of the property owners in the proposal's route have refused to let the company survey their land and every municipality in Hunterdon and Mercer counties has passed resolutions opposing it and both counties have banned the company from public land.

Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, said the group does not condone violent behavior and instead encouraged residents to post "no trespassing signs" and deny PennEast survey permission.

"We understand that people can feel frustrated and threatened when a big corporation comes to their community threatening with eminent domain for a pipeline ... however that type of behavior should not be tolerated because there are better ways to keep PennEast Pipeline off your land," Tittel said.

He said the company is using the incident to undermine the opposition, including the thousands who have peacefully spoken out against the project.

"What this property owner did was wrong and by doing what he did, he is really playing into PennEast's hands," Tittel said. "He is allowing them to try to use this incident to try to undermine the work and even attempt to discredit all the opposition to this dangerous and destructive pipeline."