Greenpeace Found Liable for Supporting Unlawful Protests
By Michael Toth | National Law Review
A jury in North Dakota recently ordered the environmental group Greenpeace to pay more than $660 million dollars in damages to a Texas-based energy company. While commentators have focused on Greenpeace’s tenuous future in the wake of the decision, the more important outcome is that the trial set an important precedent that violent protests cannot be excused as a form of free speech.
The trial centered on protests surrounding the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, which was the subject of months-long protests that involved violent threats, attacks, vandalism, and property destruction. In the aftermath, the company operating the pipeline, Energy Transfer, sued Greenpeace International, its US affiliate, and its financier the Greenpeace Fund for damages.
