Oil Companies Squashing Pipeline Protestors

The oil companies’ lawyers have been both clever and successful at amping up the attack on would-be pipeline protestors, whether they be indigenous or just garden-variety environmentalists.

In March, they were able to have protests viewed as acts of terrorism (who would have thought?), and reclassified certain crimes that were previously misdemeanors as felonies.  Now they can have their opponents sent away for long terms in prison.

Meanwhile in South Dakota, lawmakers have introduced the “Pipeline Package” to further constrict the constitutional right to freedom of assembly. Called the “Riot Boosting Act,” SB 189 allows the state to sue any individual or organization for “riot boosting” or encouraging a protest where acts of violence occur. That means individuals can now be held criminally or civilly liable even if they “do not personally participate in any riot but directs, advises, encourages, or solicits other persons participating in the riot.”

Of course, this is why God gave us the American Civil Liberties Union; as one can see in the article linked above, the ACLU is champing at the bit to get this atrocity overturned.