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NEGAUNEE -- Although she considers her time in jail unlawful, Cynthia Pryor hopes it invigorates mine opposition.

She wants to clear the air.  Pryor says when she was strolling around Eagle Rock last Tuesday, the way she does every week, she was not trespassing; she was on public land.

She said Kennecott purchased about 40 acres of the Yellow Dog Plains to begin construction, but had only leased the land she was arrested on, a lease that does not permit construction

"In my mind, that lease is not real," said Pryor.

She also said Kennecott's lease is not yet effective because they still lack all the proper permits, making her arrest unlawful.

"Kennecott did not have the right to proceed nor did they have the right to have her removed from the property," said Pryor's attorney, Kevin Koch.

She was taken into custody after refusing to leave the site.

"I think it was a matter of conviction and that I had to see it through, and so I was not afraid," Pryor explained.

Pryor also explained that she was not afraid of jail either.  She refused bail and remained behind bars for three days to prove her point.

"I felt that I was wrongfully arrested," she said.  "Really, once I found myself in jail it was to really express the continued belief of why I was there.  Anytime somebody puts herself out on the line, people look at that. They look at the issue again a little bit harder."

Pryor hopes to gain more support at a public coalition meeting she will hold this Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Women's Federation Clubhouse in Marquette.

Her next court appearance is set for May 6.