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U.S. opposes trip by former W.Va. coal mining executive

2 min read

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – The government wants a judge to reject a former coal executive from traveling to North Carolina ahead of his trial on criminal charges stemming from the deadly Upper Big Branch Mine disaster.

Prosecutors filed their terse objection Friday to Don Blankenship’s planned business trip. They declined to elaborate on the reasons why, according the Charleston Gazette-Mail.

Blankenship’s travel is restricted while he is free on $5 million bond pending trial, now scheduled for Oct. 1.

The former CEO of Massey Energy will be tried on mine safety and securities charges related to the April 2010 explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine. Twenty-nine miners were killed in the deadliest mining disaster in decades.

Blankenship is seeking the court’s approval for a three-day trip. The court filing provided no details about the purpose of the trip.

His travel requests were an issue in the past. Shortly after his mid-November indictment, Blankenship was allowed to travel to Las Vegas, which he says is now his legal residence. He was blocked, however, from taking a similar trip for Christmas and New Year’s holidays after U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin objected.

In May, a federal magistrate judge denied Blankenship’s request to “travel home to Nevada during the Memorial Day holiday.”

Then in June, Blankenship was given permission to travel to Ohio to watch his son compete in a dirt-track car race.

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