Greenpeace Found Liable by Jury, Ordered to Pay Hundreds of Millions Over Pipeline Protests

The left-wing environmental group Greenpeace was ordered by a jury to pay over $660 million in damages due to their coordination of protests against the construction of a controversial pipeline.

As reported by Fox News, the lawsuit was filed against the Dutch group by Dakota Access, a subsidiary of the Texas-based company Energy Transfer. The suit targeted Greenpeace International, Greenpeace USA, and its fundraising arm Greenpeace Fund Inc., accusing the groups of defamation, trespassing, nuisance, and civil conspiracy, among other charges, over their constant protests of the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. Despite seemingly nonstop protests in 2016 and 2017, the pipeline was completed in April of 2017 and became operational the next month.

Of the three defendants, Greenpeace USA was the only one to be found liable on every count, while the other two were only found liable on some of the counts. As such, the amount of money they have been ordered to pay will be spread out across the three different entities.

In a statement following the verdict, Greenpeace issued a statement denouncing the lawsuit and its outcome as “meritless,” vowing to appeal the decision.

“This case should alarm everyone, no matter their political inclinations,” said Sushma Raman, the interim executive director of Greenpeace Fund Inc. “It’s part of a renewed push by corporations to weaponize 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.”

In its own statement, Energy Transfer celebrated the outcome as a “win,” particularly for “Americans who understand the difference between the right to free speech and breaking the law.”

“While we are pleased that Greenpeace has been held accountable for their actions against us, this win is really for the people of Mandan and throughout North Dakota who had to live through the daily harassment and disruptions caused by the protesters who were funded and trained by Greenpeace,” the company declared.

During the protests, agitators would camp out for months near the site of the pipeline’s construction, outside of the Standing Rock Reservation. The pipeline runs underground, including under the Missouri River, thus leading to some concerns from left-wing activists that the pipeline would contaminate the reservation’s water supply.

Now fully operational, the pipeline is responsible for the transportation of at least 5% of the daily oil production for the entirety of the United States.