Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights

August 8, 2024

Standing Rock Media Files at Risk: Minnesota Supreme Court Agrees to Review Unicorn Riot's Win in Court

"Water is life, without water there is no life." Photo credit NBC

Standing Rock Media Files at Risk: Minnesota Supreme Court Agrees to Review Unicorn Riot's Win in Court

Breaking News at Censored News

By Brenda Norrell, Censored News, August 8, 2024

ST PAUL, Minnesota -- The Minnesota Supreme Court has agreed to review the win in court of Unicorn Riot media, which protected the internal files of media coverage of the resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Energy Transfer petitioned the higher court to review the decision of the lower court, the Minneapolis Appeals Court. The higher court ruled in favor of Energy Transfer and agreed to the review the case on Tuesday, August 6.

The pipeline owner, which has filed a lawsuit against Greenpeace, Red Warrior Society, and water protectors in North Dakota, wants a privilege log, a document that describes other items that are withheld from production in a civil lawsuit.

The lower court denied Energy Transfer a sweeping collection of Unicorn Riot's internal files, stating those were protected by Minnesota law, the home state of Unicorn Riot.

It is now eight years after the pipeline resistance began, and Energy Transfer has slapped Greenpeace, Red Warrior Society and others with a $300 million SLAPP lawsuit, scheduled for North Dakota State Court in 2025.

Subpoenas as fishing expedition

Greenpeace told Censored News, "Unicorn riot was never named in the lawsuit. They received a third party subpoena, along with many other activist groups and individuals (these folks are not parties to the case; rather, they are third parties that Energy Transfer wants info from in its case against Greenpeace.)" 

As previously reported by Censored News, a new development delayed the trial in the lawsuit filed by Energy Transfer against Greenpeace and Standing Rock water protectors.

A "massive document dump" by Energy Transfer resulted in the delay, after the owner of Dakota Access Pipeline began issuing third party subpoenas to water protectors and the media, Greenpeace told Censored News.

"Originally, our trial was set for July 29th, 2024 – but due to a massive document dump by Energy Transfer in June, Greenpeace filed a request to have the trial date pushed back. The judge agreed, and moved our trial to February 24, 2025 through March 28, 2025," Lindsay Bigda, communication director, Democracy Resilience Program at Greenpeace USA told Censored News today.

The lawsuit is known as a SLAPP lawsuit, a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation intended to silence or punish someone for speaking out on a matter of public interest. 

Pipeline company still targeting Red Warrior Society

Responding to questions, Greenpeace said Red Warrior Society and other water protectors are named in the lawsuit.

"Red Warrior Society is still named in the lawsuit and last week our lawyers presented arguments for why it shouldn’t be (because it is not the sort of entity that can be sued). The two individuals, Cody Hall and Krystal Two Bulls, are also still named, but were never served. (Greenpeace entities are the only ones that were served and are actively litigating)," Bigda told Censored News.


During a hearing, attorneys for Greenpeace asked a North Dakota judge to dismiss Red Warrior Society from the lawsuit. The suit was filed in Morton County District Court in North Dakota State Court in 2019, North Dakota Monitor reports.

Steven Caplow, also representing Greenpeace, asked the judge to dismiss this part of the claim because the Red Warrior Society is not a legal entity.

“You can’t conspire with the Red Warrior Society, because it doesn’t exist,” Caplow told Southwest District Jude James Gion during the hearing.

SLAPP lawsuit creates international alarm

Dr. Michelle Cook, Dine', director of Divest Invest Protect, told Censored News, "All over the world righteous people are under attack for speaking truth to the so-called 'powerful.''' 

"Very few jurisdictions have made steps to prevent the corporate legal warfare waged in SLAPPs to silence dissent and freedom of expression. The United States has long failed to uphold human rights and Indigenous leaders have had no choice but to leave their precious homelands; and use international diplomacy to implore all those who will listen for an end to the extractive industry violence.'

"Europe played a key role in the colonization of the planet. Now let's see if she, her people, and jurisdictions, can help in undoing and healing that historic wound. Indigenous peoples must continue to engage with Europe to seek justice and corporate accountability."

Water protectors and media served with subpoenas

Standing Rock water protectors and media have been served subpoenas in the case from Energy Transfer, as it seeks out information. Unicorn Riot fought the subpoena in Minnesota and won its case to protect its internal media files. However, Energy Transfer has now asked the Minnesota Supreme Court to reconsider its case.

Greenpeace: Big Oil Denies Standing Rock was Indigenous-led Movement

Greenpeace USA said in a separate statement, "We’re being sued by Big Oil Energy Transfer for $300 million. It’s an abusive lawsuit designed to end Greenpeace’s 50-year legacy of environmental activism."

"But it’s bigger than just us."

"Energy Transfer built the infamous Dakota Access Pipeline. You’ll remember that in 2016, Indigenous organizers led one of the most powerful protests in modern history at Standing Rock," Greenpeace USA said on Instagram.⁣

"Now ET claims it was all Greenpeace’s doing? It’d be laughable if it weren’t a lie and racist attempt to erase Indigenous leadership in North Dakota.⁣"

"They’re suing to recover so-called 'losses.' But really, this is about bankrupting Greenpeace USA and silencing protesters. This lawsuit would establish dangerous case law allowing corporations to go after bystanders at peaceful protests. The only way to stop this lawsuit is if we generate enough public outrage to force them to drop the lawsuit.⁣"

"We demand that 'Energy Transfer immediately drop its $300 million lawsuit against Greenpeace. This lawsuit is a blatant attempt to silence our voices. This lawsuit sets a dangerous precedent, empowering corporate giants to intimidate and silence their critics by suing them for unimaginable amounts using nonsensical/bogus arguments. Help fight back — tell Energy Transfer to drop their meritless lawsuit now.⁣"

Mercenaries TigerSwan Spied without a License, Provided Info to Law Enforcement

Red Warrior Camp was a focus of the mercenaries hired by Energy Transfer at Standing Rock in September of 2016, as revealed in the court-ordered spy documents released.

TigerSwan was found working in North Dakota without a license from 2016 through  2017. As a result, the North Dakota regulatory board ordered that TigerSwan's spy files be released. The Intercept now has over 50,000 of TigerSwan's spy documents at Standing Rock, as a result of a lengthy court battle. Energy Transfer, employer of TigerSwan, fought the release of documents in North Dakota court, but the North Dakota Supreme Court upheld the decision to release TigerSwan's documents in 2022.

The TigerSwan aerial photos included Oceti Sakowin Camp, Red Warrior Camp, and the other camps. The spy documents reveal that a U.S. Border Patrol drone was included in the aerial surveillance and infiltrators were placed in the water protector camps at Standing Rock and elsewhere.

Meanwhile, after Standing Rock, TigerSwan's CEO formed a new company. Syria says they are stealing Syria's oil. CNN reported about the secretive contract and the  new company.

Energy Transfer's petition for review of Unicorn Riot's win in court: Filed June 5, 2024


Unicorn Riot's statement on court victory May 10, 2024

"The Minnesota Court of Appeals issued the attached opinion in Energy Transfer LP v. Greenpeace International, addressing the application of the Minnesota Free Flow of Information Act when asserted in response to a third-party subpoena. We represent Unicorn Riot, a non-traditional media collective that resisted subpoenas from a conglomerate of companies that constructed and own the Dakota Access Pipeline seeking newsgathering materials to support tort claims against several activist organizations and demonstrators."

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