LONDON (AP) A British lawmaker is facing criminal charges after taking part in a protest against shale gas extraction.
Caroline Lucas, Britain's only Green Party member in Parliament, was arrested last month at a protest near the village of Balcombe in southern England.
Prosecutors said Wednesday that Lucas had been charged with "breaching a police order on public assemblies and willful obstruction of the highway."
An exploratory Cuadrilla Resources Ltd. site, 30 miles (50 kilometers) south of London, was targeted by demonstrators opposing the process known as fracking.
Lucas said, "I firmly believe in the right to peaceful protest and remain deeply concerned about the impact of fracking on climate change and the wider environment." She said she could not comment further.
