Source: Drilled
Here’s an overview of Drilled S12: SLAPP’d
For seven years Energy Transfer has pursued a $300 million conspiracy lawsuit against Greenpeace, alleging that one of the world’s largest environmental nonprofits was pulling the strings behind the most significant Indigenous uprising in half a century. The original lawsuit, filed as a RICO case in federal court, argued that it was Greenpeace — not members of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe or footage of private security and police violence against protesters — that drew tens of thousands of people to the prairies of North Dakota in 2016 to attempt to stop the Dakota Access oil pipeline. For those who were actually involved in the movement, it was a preposterous narrative. Greenpeace was at best a bit player in the sprawling story of Standing Rock.
The pipeline company’s attempt to use laws written to deal with the mob to go after environmental protesters failed, but that didn’t stop them. They refiled the suit as a fraud and conspiracy claim in North Dakota state court and, in March 2025…they won. Not only did they win, but they were awarded more than twice the damages they claimed, almost $700 million, a settlement that could bankrupt Greenpeace and set a precedent with grave implications for the Indigenous and environmental defenders who continue to rise up against the fossil fuel industry as the climate crisis deepens.
