Greenpeace USA and Greenpeace International are being sued by Energy Transfer for $300 million. Energy Transfer falsely claims that Greenpeace organized the #NoDAPL resistance at Standing Rock, a claim that is outrageous in its erasure of the Indigenous leadership in North Dakota. The trial will start on February 24 and is expected to last about five weeks in North Dakota.
This fight is bigger than Greenpeace. It’s about protecting free speech and democracy – not just for our movement, but for all movements.
Oil companies know that protest works — now they’re trying to make the consequences too high for anyone to want to risk it.
Our right to protest is under attack. This case seeks to set dangerous new legal precedents that could hold any participant at protests responsible for the actions of others at those protests – including unknown individuals.
This attempt to silence advocacy undermines the critical work needed to protect our communities and the planet. And, it threatens our ability to show up in solidarity for one another – something that is even more important under this administration.
No matter the outcome of this trial, we stand firm on our First Amendment rights to protest and to speak up against harm – particularly against corporations that would deprive us of a livable future in order to line their pockets.
The courts should protect people, not serve as tools for corporate power to silence critics.
Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP) lawsuits like the one Greenpeace USA is facing should have no place in our society. If corporations can abuse the legal system to silence dissent and muzzle public opinion at their will, our democracy is at risk.
Companies use these SLAPP suits to delay accountability and with an aim to silence or bankrupt their opponents. Most reasonable people consider this an abuse of the courts.
Petty lawsuits like this against public protest are outlawed in many U.S. states and European countries because they are perpetrated by corporations seeking retribution against community groups. At the federal level in the U.S., a bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced the Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP) Protection Act to deter corporations from filing SLAPP suits.
Energy Transfer and Big Oil may try to stop a single group, but they can’t stop a movement. We’re speaking up together to make sure they understand that – and to make other companies think twice about using abusive lawsuits in the future.
We must stand up to big oil bullies.
When Big Oil moves in, they promise jobs and energy security but leave things worse than they found them. Energy Transfer has paid several millions of dollars in fines for past transgressions in multiple circumstances, but is suing Greenpeace USA for $300 million – simply for being one of many organizations that supported the Dakota Access Pipeline protests.
If Energy Transfer succeeds, it could open the door for other corporations to sue activists groups out of existence.
Standing up to corporate bullies like Energy Transfer requires courage, mutual aid, and people power. That’s why we’re coming together to show that all eyes are on this trial, and that – no matter what happens in the courtroom – our movement will only grow stronger.
Read more in:
Greenpeace blog: “Trump, SLAPPs, and the erosion of democratic freedoms,” October 2024.
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