Roland Micklem began his fast Monday in the Governor's Reception Room. He sat quietly on a chair from the time the office opened until it closed and was back again on Tuesday.

Two police officers from Belle arrested Micklem around 10:00 Tuesday morning. It had nothing to do with his fast at the capitol but rather for an outstanding warrant on a charge of trespassing. He was taken into custody without incident and led to a police car outside the capitol and handcuffed.

The arrest stems from an incident back in October when Micklem and a group of seniors marched from Charleston to the Mammoth Coal site near Montgomery protesting mountaintop mining. Along the way, two teenagers with the group unfurled a banner from a Walker Machinery building in Belle. According to the officers, Micklem was trespassing on the property at the time as well.

Just prior to his arrest, Micklem spoke with MetroNews about his fast.

"It's an act of mourning for the destruction of the mountains and for the destruction of God's creation at the hands of humans,” he said.

Micklem stressed his fast was not directly related to mountaintop removal but destruction of the environment in general. But he admitted in the past he has had run-ins with the law involving the mining practice. The first time was in back in June during a rally at Marsh Fork Elementary School and a second time in September while blocking the entrance to Massey Energy's regional headquarters in Boone County.

"Unfortunately I cannot leave because I've committed acts of non-violent civil disobedience for which I will be standing trial at some yet to be disclosed date,” he said.

Micklem called his fast indeterminate. He moved to West Virginia three months ago. According to a press release from Climate Ground Zero, an environmental group, Micklem is a naturalist, teacher and environmental writer.