Mining Opponents Turn to Criminal Tactics in Wisconsin

A bit extreme

In the environmental underground, Katie "Krow" Kloth is described as an "anarchist, artist, forager, sustainable farmer and biologist who has been committed to struggles to protect the environment and liberate life for many."

In the Wisconsin court system, Kloth, 26, of Stevens Point, is accused of robbery with use of force, theft of movable property and misdemeanor counts of criminal damage to trailer tires, a fire extinguisher and other equipment, according to a complaint filed in Iron County.

Kloth, it's safe to say, hates the thought of Gogebic Taconite's proposed $1.5 billion mine in northern Wisconsin's Penokee Range.

She allegedly was among a group of 15 to 20 protesters, their faces mostly shrouded by bandanas, demonstrating last month at the proposed mine site, where workers took drill samples of the soil. The protesters, according to the complaint, threw pop cans and shouted obscenities at the workers.