Well, well, well—looks like Greenpeace finally got a taste of its own medicine. A North Dakota jury has slammed the environmental darling with a bill for hundreds of millions, payable to Energy Transfer Partners, the Dallas-based oil and gas titan behind the Dakota Access Pipeline. Announced today, this delicious verdict ties back to the 2016 and 2017 protests that tried—and failed—to stop the pipeline. Energy Transfer claimed Greenpeace’s “misinformation campaign” incited criminal antics and smeared their good name, demanding $300 million. The jury? They ate it up, siding with the company on most counts. Ouch.
This has been a long time coming. Energy Transfer argued that Greenpeace didn’t just cheer from the sidelines—they whipped up a frenzy that crossed legal lines. Meanwhile, Greenpeace is crying foul, clutching their pearls and insisting this lawsuit is a corporate plot to “destroy the right to peaceful protest.” Constitutional rights experts are wringing their hands too, fretting about a “chilling effect” on free speech. Boo-hoo. The jury wasn’t buying the sob story, and now Greenpeace is staring down a payout that might just bankrupt their U.S. outfit. Couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch.
Deepa Padmanabha, Greenpeace’s senior legal adviser, tried to spin it:
“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.”
Nice try, Deepa, but the jury saw through the sanctimony. Energy Transfer even played a clever card, suing three Greenpeace entities as one big happy family—checkmate. […]
— Read More: wattsupwiththat.com
