Greenpeace warned it could face bankruptcy if the civil battle between the eco-activist group and a pipeline company didn't go its way—and the trial definitely did not go Greenpeace's way. Energy Transfer, a Texas-based energy company, sued the environmental group over the 2016-17 protests over the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota, alleging harm to its financing prospects, damage to its equipment, trespass, defamation, conspiracy, and more. It claimed $300 million in damages, claiming that's how much Greenpeace's efforts raised the cost of construction, NPR reports. But on Wednesday, a jury in the conservative state awarded the energy company much more, ordering Greenpeace to pay out more than $660 million, the New York Times reports. Responses from the two sides:
- "I think Energy Transfer, and this is probably true of many big oil companies, is trying to send a message to other organizations that if you try and hold power to account, we will try to silence you. We will try to bankrupt you," said Greenpeace USA's interim executive director after the verdict.
- "Peaceful protest is an inherent American right; however, violent and destructive protest is unlawful and unacceptable," said Energy Transfer's counsel for the trial.
Greenpeace, which argued that it was actually the Standing Rock Sioux tribe that largely orchestrated the protests while it merely supported them, says it will appeal the decision. (The AP has more
here.)
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