In a high-stakes legal battle, Greenpeace is pushing back against a multimillion-dollar lawsuit filed by Energy Transfer over their involvement in the Dakota Access Pipeline protests. The trial kicked off but quickly hit a snag for the environmental group, with lawyers arguing that they won't get a fair trial in Morton County, where the protests took place.
In their recent petition to the North Dakota Supreme Court, Greenpeace's lawyers requested the trial be moved to Fargo, asserting that the jury has been influenced by the disruptions caused by the protests in 2016 and 2017. These protests, which supported the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, drew international attention and sometimes led to violent confrontations.
Energy Transfer, which constructed the pipeline that transports oil from North Dakota to Illinois, filed the lawsuit in 2019. They contend that Greenpeace played a major role in the protests that delayed construction and allegedly incited damage to workers and equipment. Greenpeace, however, maintains that it only provided support to Native American activists through peaceful means, denying any violent actions.
As the jury selection wraps up, Greenpeace's team believes the local impact of the protests could have biased potential jurors, making their case for relocation stronger. They highlight the challenges they face in proving their innocence in a community directly affected by the protests.
