“Fossil fuel firm’s $300m trial against Greenpeace to begin: ‘Weaponizing the judicial system’”, 20 February 2025

A fossil fuel company’s $300m lawsuit against Greenpeace opens in rural North Dakota on Monday, in a case that has been widely condemned by constitutional rights experts as baseless, bad faith litigation that threatens free speech.

Energy Transfer Partners, a Dallas-based oil and gas company worth almost $70bn, accuses Greenpeace of defamation and orchestrating criminal behavior by protesters at the Dakota Access pipeline (Dapl).

The anti-pipeline protests in 2016 and 2017 were organised by Standing Rock and other Sioux tribes and supported by more than 300 sovereign tribal nations, inspiring an international solidarity movement after Energy Transfer’s private security unleashed attack dogs and pepper spray against nonviolent protesters…

The lawsuit has been widely denounced as a classic strategic lawsuit against public participation (Slapp) – a form of civil litigation increasingly deployed by corporations, politicians and wealthy individuals to deliberately wear down and silence critics including journalists, activists and watchdog groups.

The case threatens to bankrupt Greenpeace US, but the biggest impact could be a chilling effect on free speech and activism more broadly, according to environmental and civil liberty experts consulted by the Guardian…

The Standing Rock tribe has always asserted that the pipeline is a violation of its sovereignty as it crosses unceded historical and sacred Sioux territorial lands…

The Standing Rock tribe’s opposition to the pipeline is in part due to the risk posed by leaks in Lake Oahe, the primary source of water for the community…

An Energy Transfer spokesperson said: “Our lawsuit against Greenpeace is not about free speech as they are trying to claim. It is about them not following the law. 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. Beyond that we will let our case speak for itself.”…