It looks like South Carolina Gov. Jim Hodges won’t be making good on his threat to lie down in the road to keep trucks loaded with plutonium out of the state.

Hodges has fought the U.S. Department of Energy’s plan to ship the weapons-grade plutonium from Colorado to South Carolina’s Savannah River site, saying he has no assurances that the radioactive material won’t be dumped in the state permanently. After he lost a legal challenge last week, he declared a state of emergency and ordered a series of plutonium watch roadblocks and searches by the Highway Patrol.
The governor’s actions didn’t sit well with U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie. She told him late Friday that blockades are illegal and could foster a terrorism-friendly environment. Tuesday, she lambasted Hodges for ignoring her warning and approved a permanent restraining order to prevent any more blockades.
Hodges said he would abide by Currie’s ruling. He has appealed the ruling allowing the shipments to begin to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond.