March 19 (UPI) — Greenpeace must pay $660 million to Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners and subsidiary Dakota Access LLC for inciting illegal activities during anti-pipeline protests nearly a decade ago.
A nine-member jury in Mandan, N.D., deliberated for two days and on Wednesday awarded them a judgment totaling $660 million against defendants Greenpeace International, Greenpeace USA and Greenpeace Fund, the North Dakota Monitor reported.
The jury found Greenpeace guilty of defaming Energy Transfer and Dakota Access and inciting illegal activities by protesters trying to stop the pipeline’s construction in 2016 and 2017.
The Energy Transfer completed work on the 1,172-mile oil pipeline in June 2017 at a cost of $3.8 billion. It runs from North Dakota to Illinois and crosses beneath the Missouri River in Morton County near the Standing Rock Reservation.
The c started the protest activities and opposed the pipeline, which tribal leaders said could pollute the Missouri River, the tribe’s water source, and encroaches upon tribal lands.
Energy Transfer attorneys filed the state-level lawsuit in 2019 and accused Greenpeace officials of providing protesters with supplies, training and intelligence while encouraging them to engage in criminal acts to stop the pipeline’s construction.
Energy Transfer also accused Greenpeace of defaming the company and its subsidiary by spreading misinformation designed to encourage banks to refuse to fund the project.
“These are the facts, not the fake news of the Greenpeace propaganda machine,” Energy Transfer’s lead attorney Trey Cox told media following the verdict.
Cox said Energy Transfer officials support the right to protest but said Greenpeace crossed the line by encouraging and supporting criminal acts while also defaming the company.
“While we are pleased that Greenpeace has been held accountable for their actions against us, this win is really for the people of Mandan and throughout North Dakota who had to live through the daily harassment and disruptions caused by the protesters who were funded and trained by Greenpeace,” the company said in a statement.
“It is also a win for all law-abiding Americans who understand the difference between the right to free speech and breaking the law. That the disrupters have been held responsible is a win for all of us.”
Greenpeace entities plan to appeal the decision to the North Dakota Supreme Court.
Greenpeace senior legal adviser Deepa Padmanabha said in a statement: “What we saw over these three weeks was Energy Transfer’s blatant disregard for the voices of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. And while they also tried to distort the truth about Greenpeace’s role in the protests, we instead reaffirmed our unwavering commitment to non-violence in every action we take.
“To be clear, Greenpeace’s story is not the story of Standing Rock. Our story is how an organization like Greenpeace USA can support critical fights to protect communities most impacted by the climate crisis, as well as continued attacks on Indigenous sovereignty.”
Sushma Raman, interim executive Director Greenpeace Inc., Greenpeace Fund, said: “This case should alarm everyone, no matter their political inclinations. It’s part of a renewed push by corporations to weaponize our courts to silence dissent. We should all be concerned about the future of the First Amendment, and lawsuits like this aimed at destroying our rights to peaceful protest and free speech.
“These rights are critical for any work toward ensuring justice – and that’s why we will continue fighting back together, in solidarity. While Big Oil bullies can try to stop a single group, they can’t stop a movement.”
The trial concluded Monday, and Cox in his closing comments told the jury that Greenpeace caused Energy Transfer and Dakota Access to suffer between $265 million and $340 million in damages.
Energy Transfer sought damages plus punitive damages for financial costs inflicted by Greenpeace and pipeline protesters.
Members of other tribes also protested the pipeline and anticipate winning an appeal of the verdict.
Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation tribal member Kandi White told the Monitor it should be easy to win an appeal of Wednesday’s verdict.
An ad-hoc group of activists, academics and attorneys who observed the trial called Wednesday’s verdict “deeply flawed.”
“It is our collective assessment that the jury verdict against Greenpeace in North Dakota reflects a deeply flawed trial with multiple due process violations that denied Greenpeace the ability to present anything close to a full defense,” the group said Wednesday in a joint statement.
The trial lasted three weeks and included testimony by dozens of witnesses, including current and former Greenpeace workers, tribal activists, law enforcement personnel and Energy Transfer officials.
Greenpeace officials argued the trial violates the First Amendment and said the tribes led the protests and not the environmental group.
Thousands of people, members of more than 100 tribes and dozens of nonprofits participated in the protests, CNN reported.
The protests initially were peaceful and drew attendance by two current members of President Donald Trump’s cabinet.
Health and Human Services Sec. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard, both Democrats, were among those who protested the pipeline.
The protests eventually included acts of violence, which divided support for them.
Greenpeace USA officials earlier said losing the case would financially ruin Greenpeace and end its 50 years of “environmental activism.”
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