The jury in Mandan, North Dakota—a community that bore the brunt of the mayhem—saw through the sham. After just two days of deliberation, they delivered a verdict that didn’t just meet Energy Transfer’s $340 million damage claim but doubled down with punitive damages, totaling over $660 million. Trespass, defamation, conspiracy—the list of Greenpeace’s transgressions read like a rap sheet, and the jurors weren’t buying the group’s excuse that it was just a bit player in the mess it helped create.

Greenpeace, predictably, is crying foul, whining that this payout could bankrupt its U.S. operations. Good riddance, say many conservatives who’ve watched the group thumb its nose at law and order for years. "This is about accountability," said Trey Cox, Energy Transfer’s lead attorney from Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, outside the courthouse. "Peaceful protest is American as apple pie, but what Greenpeace did—funding destruction and smearing a company trying to keep our country running—that’s not protest, that’s sabotage." People like @theCCR love to say that their right to protest is being harmed yet they don't tell you about the damage to the environment when they leave trash and destroy private properties. //

Of course, Greenpeace is pulling out all the stops to spin this as an attack on the First Amendment. “This threatens our rights to peaceful protest,” bleated Deepa Padmanabha, a Greenpeace lawyer, as if torching equipment and delaying a vital infrastructure project qualifies as "peaceful." The irony wasn’t lost on Cox, who called the ruling a “powerful affirmation” of real free speech—speech that doesn’t come with a Molotov cocktail attached. //

As one local put it outside the courthouse, “Maybe now they’ll think twice before messing with our way of life.” Amen to that. //

stripmallgrackle RedRaider85
an hour ago
Big Oil Stacked Jury implies jury tampering in the jury selection process. That sounds like a defamation/libel suit waiting to happen, unless SpleenPeace can prove the jury was rigged. Clearly, the post was intended to defame Energy Transfer. //

ConservativeInMinnesota
3 hours ago
The hypocrites abandoned hundreds of junk cars and over 48 million pounds of trash (it filled hundreds of semi trucks). Over a million was spent cleaning up their trash.

Pipelines significantly more energy efficient and environmentally friendly than trains. Those oil trains still run not too far from my house.

It was a greenwashing power trip. They earned their court loss and I hope it ruins them.

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/mar/1/dakota-access-protest-camp-crews-haul-48-million-p/

https://thefederalist.com/2017/03/10/environmentalist-protest-destroys-environment-standing-rock/. //

ThatGuy81
3 hours ago
Oh, you mean the Indian "tribe" that was holding out for more money then got pissed when they and their "sacred land" was bypassed by accommodating land owners and they got nothing, then decided to hold the company hostage by claiming environmental issues? Yeah, those greedy a**holes. //

USA_Proud
3 hours ago
ProPublica reported that Greenpeace has $22M in Revenue in 2023, with total assets of $48.4M.. Greenpeace Fund Inc; Washington, DC; Tax-exempt since Jan. 1979; EIN: 95-3313195. As such, doubtful that Energy Transfer can ultimately recover compensatory damages, much less punitive damages. They will fight it to Bankruptcy, and likely would be willing to spend every dollar on a legal challenge before they give anything to Energy Transfer. I would expect that they would get some form of legal claim against them, so that they can't commit more dollars to their legal defense. Even if they go into bankruptcy, it will be a warning shot to other 501C organizations messing around with what can rightfully be considered terroristic actions. The next step may be to find if some big donor put leverage on them to do these steps, and pursue it as a conspiratorial act.