Union Official Charged with Bombing Alabama Gas Pipeline

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - A West Virginia man has been charged with bombing a methane gas pipeline owned and operated by Warrior Met Coal, Inc., in Brookwood, Alabama, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona, Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Carlton L. Peeples, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Marcus Watson.

A one-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges Jerry Gale Kerns, 52, with destruction of property used in interstate commerce by means of fire or explosive.

According to the indictment, on March 23, 2022, Kerns bombed a section of a methane gas pipeline near the intersection of Hanna Creek Road and Sandlin Mountain Road in Brookwood, Alabama. At the time, Kerns was the Region II Director of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) union. The UMWA represented striking, unionized coal miners employed by Warrior Met Coal, which operated a mine in Brookwood.

If convicted, Kerns faces a minimum of five years and a maximum of twenty years in prison.

FBI and ATF investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan "Jack" Harrington and Lloyd C. Peeples, III are prosecuting the case.

An indictment contains only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.