North Dakota jury finds Greenpeace liable for hundreds of millions of dollars in damages

A North Dakota jury on Wednesday found Greenpeace liable for hundreds of millions of dollars in damages over its role in months-long protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline in 2016 and 2017.

After two days of deliberation, the New York Times reported, the jury returned the verdict. Energy Transfer, the owner and operator of the pipeline, filed the lawsuit in North Dakota state court against Greenpeace and Red Warrior Camp, which Energy Transfer claimed was a front for Greenpeace, and three individuals. 

The lawsuit alleges that Greenpeace had engaged in a misinformation campaign with mass emails falsely claiming that the Dakota Access Pipeline would cross the sovereign land of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. In court filings, Energy Transfer claimed protesters engaged in a campaign of “militant direct action,” including trespassing on the company’s property, vandalizing construction equipment, and assaulting employees and contractors. 

In testimony at the trial, Greenpeace maintained that it played only a minor role in what were protests led by indigenous groups. The organization argues, CNN reported, that the lawsuit is an effort on the part of the company to violate Greenpeace’s free speech rights. 

“This is a test on our First Amendment rights during a very, very dangerous time in this country’s history,” Deepa Padmanabha, senior legal advisor for Greenpeace USA, told CNN. Padmanabha told the Associated Press, when asked if Greenpeace plans to appeal, that "this fight is not over."