Pipeline protesters demand Schweitzer oppose oil project

HELENA — About 70 protesters occupied Gov. Brian Schweitzer's offices for more than four hours, refusing to leave after Schweitzer refused to renounce his support for an oil pipeline project.

The protesters say the governor should oppose the planned Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to the U.S. after the Exxon Mobil pipeline spill in the Yellowstone River.

Schweitzer met with the group Tuesday, saying he would not cede to their demands. They then started playing the piano and dancing on a table in the governor's reception room in apparent frustration.

Schweitzer left the room.

The group stayed the governor's main office, dispersing only when police arrested two men and three women who refused to leave.

A spokesman says the protest was the culmination of an environmental rally in the Lolo National Forest