Activists fight to hold energy companies accountable in age of repressive state laws

Anti-Dakota Access Pipeline demonstrations inspired legislative crackdown, Greenpeace report says.

MARK HAND JUN 19, 2018, 10:50 AM

The Native American-led protests against construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) inspired a national movement that reached its peak in the fall of 2016. The massive protests against the oil pipeline also caught the attention of state lawmakers in North Dakota and other fossil fuel-friendly states who feared the spread of similar demonstrations against other energy infrastructure projects.

Starting in early 2017, these state legislators worked with corporate-funded groups to craft legislation restricting the right to protest and criminalizing protest. More than two years after the rise of the anti-Dakota Access Pipeline movement, efforts to crack down on protests have not slowed down, according to a new report from Greenpeace that focuses on Energy Transfer Partners, the corporate sponsor of the controversial oil pipeline.

More than 60 bills have been introduced in state legislatures restricting the right to protest in the wake of the anti-DAPL movement. Nine of the bills have passed and 26 are pending. Three of the nine bills became law in North Dakota. The most recent anti-protest bill to become law was signed by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) in April.

Among the most recent bills to be introduced is one in Minnesota where state lawmakers are considering whether to create a felony for anyone who “recruits, trains, aids, advises, hires, counsels, or conspires with” an individual who causes significant damage to critical infrastructure such as pipelines. The bill would target people associated with someone that damages property. For example, a person who brings food to protesters could be held liable for the actions of others at a protest camp.

“The legislative trend sparked by the DAPL protests shows no signs of slowing down, and the resulting impact could have disastrous consequences on First Amendment rights and free speech — consequences extending far beyond pipelines,” Greenpeace warns in the report, released Monday.

Energy Transfer Partners, Greenpeace notes, has not been held accountable for its violent attacks on protesters or its aggressive stance against public participation in the pipeline permitting process.

https://thinkprogress.org/activists-fight-to-hold-energy-companies-accountable-in-age-of-repressive-state-laws-d1c4df522195/

We have legislation in these states attacking the First Amendment .................this outrageous