DoomsdaysCW<p>So, this article outlines what the nominee for director of <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/HomelandSecurity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>HomelandSecurity</span></a> has planned for <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SilencingDissent" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>SilencingDissent</span></a> in the US...</p><p>From 2019: South Dakota Governor <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/KristiNoem" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>KristiNoem</span></a> Caves on Attempted Efforts to Silence <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PipelineProtesters" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>PipelineProtesters</span></a> </p><p>ACLU, October 24, 2019</p><p>"South Dakota’s governor and attorney general today backed down from their unconstitutional attempts to silence pipeline protestors. In response to a lawsuit we filed alongside the ACLU of South Dakota and the Robins Kaplan law firm, the state has agreed to never enforce the unconstitutional provisions of several state laws that threatened activists who encourage or organize protests, particularly protests of the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/KeystoneXL" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>KeystoneXL</span></a> [<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/KXL" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>KXL</span></a>] pipeline, with fines and criminal penalties of up to 25 years in prison.</p><p>"The settlement agreement reached today and now headed to the court for approval is an important victory for the right to protest. It comes soon after a federal court temporarily blocked enforcement of the pieces of the laws that infringed on First Amendment protected speech, and makes the court’s temporary block a permanent one.</p><p>"The laws include the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/RiotBoostingAct" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>RiotBoostingAct</span></a>, which gave the state the authority to sue individuals and <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/organizations" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>organizations</span></a> for 'riot boosting,' a novel and confusing term. The court warned against the laws’ broad reach, noting that the laws could have prohibited:</p><p>- Sending a supporting email or a letter to the editor in support of a protest<br>- Giving a cup of coffee or thumbs up or $10 to protesters<br>- Holding up a sign in protest on a street corner<br>- Asking someone to protest</p><p>"Under the First Amendment, that is impermissible.</p><p>"The court rightly recognized the stakes of this case. And it put these <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/AntiProtest" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>AntiProtest</span></a> efforts in perspective, asking 'if these riot boosting statutes were applied to the protests that took place in Birmingham, Alabama, what might be the result?' The answer: 'Dr. King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference could have been liable under an identical riot boosting law[.]'</p><p>"Indeed, South Dakota’s unconstitutional anti-protest efforts echoed the suppression of past social movements. From the start, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem called on 'shut[ting] down' 'out-of-state people' who come into South Dakota to 'slow and stop construction' of the pipeline. Her harmful calls were reminiscent of government attempts throughout our history to delegitimize and minimize significant <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SocialMovements" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>SocialMovements</span></a> as the work of 'outside agitators,' including Reverend <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MartinLutherKingJr" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>MartinLutherKingJr</span></a>.</p><p>"South Dakota’s quick and costly retreat (they’ll have to compensate plaintiffs for attorney’s fees under the settlement agreement) should serve as a lesson for other legislatures considering similar efforts to silence dissent.</p><p>"In the last few years, we have witnessed a legislative trend of states seeking to criminalize protest, deter political participation, and curtail freedom of association. These bills appear to be a direct reaction from politicians and corporations to some of the most effective tactics of those speaking out today, including water protectors challenging pipeline construction, Black Lives Matter, and those calling for boycotts of Israel. These legislative moves are aimed at suppressing dissent and undercutting marginalized and over-policed groups voicing concerns that disrupt current power dynamics.</p><p>"But the First Amendment guarantees people the right to voice their opposition. This includes our clients — four organizations (the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SierraClub" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>SierraClub</span></a>, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/NDNCollective" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>NDNCollective</span></a>, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/DakotaRuralAction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>DakotaRuralAction</span></a>, and the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/IndigenousEnvironmentalNetwork" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>IndigenousEnvironmentalNetwork</span></a> - <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/IEN" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>IEN</span></a>) and two individuals (<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/NickTilsen" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>NickTilsen</span></a> with NDN Collective and <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/DallasGoldtooth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>DallasGoldtooth</span></a> with Indigenous Environmental Network) — all of whom are protesting construction of the Keystone XL pipeline and encouraging others to do the same.</p><p>"Construction of the Keystone XL pipeline may be imminent. Pre-construction activities resumed this month, and a hearing on the new Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the pipeline, which will serve as the basis for approval of any future permits, is coming up next Monday.</p><p>"With the laws we challenged proclaimed unenforceable, protesters and protectors no longer have to worry about incarceration or fines as they protest against the construction. That is, at a minimum, how democracy should work."</p><p><a href="https://www.aclu.org/news/free-speech/south-dakota-governor-caves-on-attempted-efforts-to-silence-pipeline-protesters" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">aclu.org/news/free-speech/sout</span><span class="invisible">h-dakota-governor-caves-on-attempted-efforts-to-silence-pipeline-protesters</span></a> </p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WaterProtectors" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>WaterProtectors</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CriminalizingDissent" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>CriminalizingDissent</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/BigOilAndGas" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>BigOilAndGas</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CorporateColonialism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>CorporateColonialism</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Fascism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Fascism</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/DefendTheSacred" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>DefendTheSacred</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/IndigenousActivists" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>IndigenousActivists</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/StandWithStandingRock" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>StandWithStandingRock</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/FirstAmendment" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>FirstAmendment</span></a></p>
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#pipelineprotesters
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DoomsdaysCW<p>‘They <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/criminalize" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>criminalize</span></a> us’: how <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/felony" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>felony</span></a> charges are weaponized against <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PipelineProtesters" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>PipelineProtesters</span></a> </p><p>Twenty states have passed laws that criminalize protesting, including on infrastructure including <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/pipelines" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>pipelines</span></a>. In <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Minnesota" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Minnesota</span></a>, at least 66 felony theft charges against <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Line3" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Line3</span></a> protesters remain open</p><p>Alexandria Herr for Floodlight<br>Thu 10 Feb 2022 </p><p>"Last summer [2021] Sabine von Mering, a professor of German at Brandeis University, drove more than 1,500 miles from Boston to Minneapolis to protest against the replacement of the Line 3 <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/OilPipeline" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>OilPipeline</span></a> that stretches from <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Canada" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Canada</span></a>’s <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/TarSands" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>TarSands</span></a> down to Minnesota.</p><p>"Along with another protester, she locked herself to a semi-truck in the middle of a roadway, according to a filed court brief, as a means of <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/peaceful" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>peaceful</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/resistance" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>resistance</span></a>. But when she was arrested, she was charged with a serious crime: felony theft, which carries up to five years in prison.</p><p>"'It’s very scary that they criminalize us like that, and to face jail time,' said Von Mering, 54, of her June arrest. 'But what can I do? I feel responsible to my kids and <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/FutureGenerations" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>FutureGenerations</span></a>.'</p><p>"The felony charges come as more than a dozen states have passed laws to criminalize <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/FossilFuel" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>FossilFuel</span></a> protests, and as the federal government has ramped up its own tactics for surveilling and penalizing protesters.</p><p>"Von Mering is one of nearly 900 protesters who were arrested in Minnesota for protesting against the pipeline’s construction, with the vast majority of arrests taking place during the summer of 2021, and one of dozens facing felony charges. Construction on the Line 3 pipeline was finalized in October 2021 and carries 760,000 barrels of oil per day across northern Minnesota. But its construction for years has stoked fierce protests and legal challenges, led by <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Indigenous" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Indigenous</span></a> activists in northern Minnesota who worried about potential impacts of oil spills and the pipeline’s threat to <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/treaty" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>treaty</span></a> rights to gather wild rice. While most of the arrests have led to misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor charges for crimes including 'disturbing the peace' and 'trespassing', felony charges like Von Mering’s mean protesters are facing years of jail time.</p><p>"Legal advocates say that in Minnesota the elevated charges are a novel tactic to challenge protest actions against pipeline construction. They see them as furthering evidence of close ties between Minnesota’s government and the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/FossilFuelIndustry" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>FossilFuelIndustry</span></a>. It follows reporting by the Guardian that the Canadian pipeline company <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Enbridge" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Enbridge</span></a>, which is building Line 3, reimbursed Minnesota’s <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/police" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>police</span></a> department $2.4m for time spent arresting protesters and on equipment including ballistic helmets. Experts say the reimbursement strategy for arrests is a new technique in both Minnesota and across the US, and there’s concern it can be replicated.</p><p>"'I do a lot of representation for people in political protests and I’ve never seen anything like that,' said Jordan Kushner, a defense attorney representing clients charged in relation to Line 3 protests.</p><p>"Two of Kushner’s clients were charged with felony 'aiding attempted suicide' charges for crawling inside a pipe. The charge is for someone who 'intentionally advises, encourages, or assists another who attempts but fails to take the other’s own life', according to Minnesota law and carries up to a seven-year sentence. Authorities alleged that the protesters were endangering their lives by remaining inside the pipeline."</p><p>Read more:<br><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/feb/10/felony-charges-pipeline-protesters-line-3" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">theguardian.com/us-news/2022/f</span><span class="invisible">eb/10/felony-charges-pipeline-protesters-line-3</span></a> </p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/StopEnbridge" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>StopEnbridge</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/NoLine3" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>NoLine3</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Protestors" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Protestors</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ClimateActivists" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ClimateActivists</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Fascism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Fascism</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WaterIsLife" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>WaterIsLife</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ACAB" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ACAB</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/IndigenousNews" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>IndigenousNews</span></a></p>
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