$300M lawsuit: The end for Greenpeace in the US?

The NGO advocating for environmental protection is being sued by Energy Transfer in a trial that began on February 24. It spans five weeks in Mandan, North Dakota, a conservative state.

The fossil fuel company Energy Transfer, based in Dallas, accuses the NGO of conducting protests that it considers violent and that allegedly sabotaged parts of the Dakota Access Pipeline, thereby delaying its construction.

Greenpeace denies the accusations, stating that it only played a supporting role in the protests led by the indigenous communities of the region.

During the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, the community of the Sioux of Standing Rock rose up, claiming that the pipeline encroached on sacred land and would endanger their water supply.

The pipeline, which transports oil from North Dakota to Illinois, was ultimately approved in 2016 under the Trump administration.

Between 2016 and 2017, tens of thousands of protesters mobilized in North Dakota. More than 300 indigenous tribes supported the Standing Rock Sioux, the sixth largest reservation in the United States.

During the numerous protests, authorities arrested at least 150 people, used tear gas, and unleashed dogs on the protesters. Hundreds of protesters were injured.

Energy Transfer declined to comment before the trial. In a statement published in August, the company asserted: “It is not about free speech as they are trying to claim. We support the rights of all Americans to express their opinions and lawfully protest. However, when it is not done in accordance with our laws, we have a legal system to deal with that.”

«This lawsuit from Energy Transfer against Greenpeace USA and Greenpeace International includes a racist attempted rewrite of the history of the Indigenous-led protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline. […] If we lose [the trial], Greenpeace USA could face financial ruin, ending more than 50 years of environmental activism», reads the Greenpeace website.

«This trial could set a dangerous precedent, where any protester could be held responsible for the actions of others during a demonstration, including strangers. This threatens our right to be supportive of one another», says Kristin Casper, General Counsel for Greenpeace International.