A jury in North Dakota jury has ordered Greenpeace to pay more than $660 million in damages in a defamation lawsuit brought by oil pipeline operator Energy Transfer.
In what is reportedly one of the largest anti-fossil fuel protests in US history, Texan-based Energy Transfer also accused Greenpeace of trespassing, nuisance, conspiracy and depriving access to property, reported Al Jazeera.
The environmental advocacy group has stated that it will appeal Wednesday’s verdict which came almost a decade after activists joined a protest led by Rock Sioux Tribe against the Dakota Access Pipeline. This marks the beginning of the lengthy legal process as Greenpeace intends to appeal the verdict.
According to BBC, the nine-person jury reached a verdict on March 19 after about two days of deliberations. The case was heard by a nine-person jury at a court in Mandan, about 100 miles (160km) north of the protest site, after roughly two days of deliberations. The outcome found Greenpeace liable for hundreds of millions of dollars over actions taken to prevent the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline nearly a decade ago.
Greenpeace said last month that it could be forced into bankruptcy because of the case. This potential bankruptcy underscores the high stakes of the lawsuit for the organisation.
Appeal and Uncertainty
“This case should alarm everyone, no matter their political inclinations,” Greenpeace US interim Executive Director Sushma Raman said in a statement published Wednesday.
“It’s part of a renewed push by corporations to weaponise our courts to silence dissent. We should all be concerned about the future of the First Amendment, and lawsuits like this aimed at destroying our rights to peaceful protest and free speech,” Raman said.
In 2016, the Dakota Access Pipeline gained international attention during President Donald Trump's first term, as Native American groups set up large encampment to block its construction, arguing that the pipeline would endanger water supplies and sacred tribal lands.
The protests, which saw acts of violence and vandalism, started in April 2016 and ended in February 2017, when the National Guard and police cleared away the demonstrators.
At the peak, over 10,000 protesters were on site, reported BBC. The group included more than 200 Native American tribes, hundreds of US military veterans, actors and political leaders - including current US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy, Jr.
The 1,172-mile pipeline has been operating since 2017. However, it still lacks a key permit to operate under Lake Oahe in South Dakota, and local tribes have pushed for an extensive environmental review of the project.
