A North Dakota jury ruled Wednesday that left-wing environmentalist group Greenpeace must pay hundreds of millions in damages to pipeline company Energy Transfer over its role in the Dakota Access Pipeline protests almost a decade ago.
Energy Transfer sued Greenpeace International, Greenpeace USA, and its fundraising arm Greenpeace Fund Inc. for $300 million for defamation and an assortment of activities tied to the anti-Dakota Access Pipeline demonstrations.
Greenpeace fundraised off the long-running lawsuit and claimed it was an attempt by the oil industry to silence its environmentalist critics. The nine jurors disagreed, and after two days of deliberation sided with Dallas-based Energy Transfer following a three week trial.
Energy Transfer co-founder Kelcy Warren, a donor to President Donald Trump, argued it was necessary to fight the “false narrative” environmental protestors created about his company, the New York Times reported.
The protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline in 2016 and 2017 became a national news story and featured months-long activist encampments around the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe reservation. The Standing Rock Tribe, other native tribes, protesters, celebrities, and Democratic politicians fought against the pipeline’s construction because of fears it could poison the tribe’s water supply and destroy cultural sites.
The demonstrations also featured acts of violence and confrontations between activists and law enforcement. Opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline became a cause célèbre for progressive activists and supporters of socialist Senator Bernie Sanders’s (I. Vt.) failed 2016 presidential campaign.
The multi-state Dakota Access Pipeline runs underground in a straight diagonal line from northwest North Dakota through South Dakota and Iowa to an oil terminal in southern Illinois. A small portion of the pipeline was supposed to run upstream of the Standing Rock reservation beneath the Lake Oahe reservoir off the Missouri river. The pipeline began operating in 2017 at the beginning of Trump’s first term, despite legal challenges from the Sioux and other native tribes.
Plaintiffs alleged Greenpeace paid outside protesters, provided protest supplies and trainings, and made false statements about the pipeline. Energy Transfer blamed Greenpeace for spurring protests that delayed the pipeline’s construction and increased costs, while tarnishing the company’s reputation. The plaintiff said the extra costs amounted to $340 million and additionally sought punitive damages for the protests.
Greenpeace argued it played a minor role in the Standing Rock protests and the lawsuit posed an existential threat to its First Amendment rights. The environmentalist group also warned that possible damages from the lawsuit could jeopardize its future after decades of liberal activism.
“The work of Greenpeace is never going to stop. That’s the really important message today, and we’re just walking out and we’re going to get together and figure out what our next steps are,” Greenpeace senior legal advisor Deepa Padmanabha told the Associated Press.
Greenpeace’s operations in the U.S. could be severely hampered if it is unable to appeal the jury’s decision. Beginning in 1971, Greenpeace has pushed for progressive environmental policies and other left-wing causes, with a more recent focus on anti-Israel foreign policy.