AKRON, Ohio — We The Patriots USA (WTP USA), a nonprofit public interest law firm, hosted a press conference in Akron to discuss litigation against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and local officials over its handling of the East Palestine train derailment, a press release said.
The press conference, which we streamed live, was held outside the front entrance of the John F. Seiberling Federal Building & U.S. Courthouse on Main Street in Akron.
You can watch their full press conference in the video embedded below.
"We feel very strongly that every journalist with an interest in honest reporting regarding the incident in East Palestine should be present at Monday's press conference. We will be providing details regarding our legal filing at that time, including the claims we are bringing against the EPA and certain Ohio officials. In our opinion, this is an environmental catastrophe that has seriously jeopardized the health and safety of the residents of East Palestine and the surrounding area, and we believe that public health and safety officials have not taken adequate action to address it. This lawsuit will seek to correct that," said Brian Festa, Vice-President & Co-Founder of WTP USA.
At the press conference, Counsel Cameron Atkinson, of Atkinson Law, called the derailment "catastrophic," adding, "the people of Ohio deserve better, (residents) deserve better, the people of East Palenstine deserve better."
Atkinson and other representatives from WTP accused the federal government, including the EPA, of mishandling the derailment and failing to conduct the proper testing after the derailment.
Furthermore, Atkinson said government officials failed to give detailed instructions to residents on how to protect their homes and properties from the leaked chemicals.
Last week, President Joe Biden ordered the EPA, FEMA and CDC to conduct door-to-door visits in East Palestine to check families impacted by the Ohio train derailment.
The White House says those teams had reached about 350 households by the end of the weekend.
An update provided to 3News said they “are on track to exceed their target of reaching 400 families by Monday."
Editor's Note: The following video is from a previous, unrelated report.
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