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FACT CHECK: South Dakota Riot Boosting Law Doesn’t “Outlaw Many Forms of Pipeline Protest”

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CLAIM: The Capital Journal of South Dakota reports that the state’s riot boosting law “is an attempt by (Governor) Noem to outlaw many forms of Pipeline protest,” while also noting that groups opposed to the law say it is a threat to free speech.

RATING:False

FACT CHECK

The riot boosting law does not outlaw forms of protest. Instead, it imposes new penalties for illegal activity and for supporting illegal activity.

As previously noted, the new law does not threaten free speech or create new illegal forms of protest. Additionally, the language in Senate Bill 189 is clear …

FACT CHECK: Ignoring Facts, NRDC Calls Pipelines “Dangerous” and “Reckless”

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CLAIM: The Natural Resources Defense Council claims that a proposed pipeline that would run through New Jersey is a “dangerous” and “reckless” project and that they will use “every tool in the kit to stop this dangerous pipeline from ever being built.”

RATING: False

FACT CHECK

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) concludes that pipelines “enable the safe movement of extraordinary quantities of energy products to industry and consumers, literally fueling our economy and way of life.” The PHMSA also says pipelines are “one of the safest and least costly ways to transport energy products.”

Further, the PHMSA …

FACT CHECK: Sen. Markey, Rep. Pallone Claim DOT Proposal Threatens Free Speech

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CLAIM: Citing free speech and assembly, Congressional Democrats are criticizing a Department of Transportation proposal to promote pipeline safety while cracking down on violent and illegally disruptive protests of pipeline construction projects.

“This provision is a clear infringement on the basic right of speech and assembly and a poorly veiled effort to undermine the ability of Native and Indigenous communities to advocate for themselves and their tribal lands,” Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts said in a statement, as reported by Politico.

A spokesman for House Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone claims the legislative proposal would be “used as …

Department of Transportation Releases Legislative Proposal Promoting Pipeline Safety, Innovation

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Joining states across the country, the Trump Administration is seeking to promote pipeline safety while cracking down on violent and illegally disruptive protests of pipeline construction projects that have become increasingly common in recent years.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao, through the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, released a legislative proposal that “prioritizes safety, promotes innovation, and encourages reliable energy infrastructure in the United States.”

“The Department looks forward to working with Congress to pass a robust pipeline safety reauthorization bill that will strengthen the safety of critical energy transportation infrastructure,” Secretary Chao said in a news release…

FACT CHECK: Texas Legislation Protects Infrastructure, Workers

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CLAIM: The Society of Native Nations claims that legislation designed to protect critical infrastructure projects and workers is a “fear tactic” that “protect(s) the dirty fossil fuel industry.”

RATING: False

FACT CHECK

As with other laws and legislation across the country, the bill passed this week by the legislature in Texas – and expected to be signed into law – is clear in its language and those behaviors it seeks to discourage:

DAMAGING OR DESTROYING CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE FACILITY.  (a)  A person commits an offense if, without the effective consent of the owner, the person enters or remains on or in

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FACT CHECK: ACLU of South Dakota Wants to Sue Law Enforcement Official Over Riot Boosting Law

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CLAIM: The ACLU of South Dakota claims it should be able to sue law enforcement officials over a new riot boosting law that is designed to protect critical infrastructure projects and those who work on them. The ACLU claims the Pennington County sheriff can be sued because he has “discretion in whether and how to enforce the challenged laws, and the vagueness of the challenged laws requires (the sheriff) to exercise discretion and make choices in enforcing the law. Each time (the sheriff) makes a choice about the laws’ meaning, as the highest official in the county for that action, …

HYPOCRISY WATCH: Big Money, Big Jets and the Promise to Protect

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The Hill published an op-ed this week from a member of the Promise to Protect coalition, a group dedicated to training and organizing protests designed to disrupt pipeline projects across the country. The op-ed portrays the organization as a scrappy little mom and pop start-up led by Native American tribes:

In creating prayer camps and putting our bodies on the line to defend our planet, we’ve learned a great deal about taking peaceful and direct action for a cause you believe in. Native leaders are now offering guidance and perspective to communities already working to stop oil and gas extraction

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Anti-Pipeline Group Honor the Earth Has #MeToo Reckoning

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Above Image: Winona LaDuke, founder and executive director of Honor the Earth  discusses the Dakota Access Pipeline during an appearance on Democracy Now! in 2016.

A prominent Minnesota environmental group is now in the crosshairs of the #MeToo movement, accused of trying to silence a former employee who was sexually harassed by a coworker “credibly accused” of molesting young boys.

Honor the Earth “failed to take these accusations seriously” and cultivated a workplace environment where claims of sexual harassment when unaddressed, according to a lawsuit filed recently filed by former employee Margret Campbell.

The complaint details how Michael Dahl, …

HYPOCRISY WATCH: Drake Buys a Great Big Jet

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Drake, the rapper who has been praised in recent years for his “epiphany about climate change,” seems to have lost his way.

The formerly eco-friendly superstar took to Instagram last week to show off his new plane. It’s not a Cessna Citation X. It’s not a Learjet 60. It’s not a Gulfstream G550.

Nope. Drake got himself a 767.

Depending on the model, a 767 has a fuel burn rate of 17 to 21 pounds a minute. NBC reported that a 767 burns about 9,000 gallons of jet fuel on a cross country flight (or about …

FACT CHECK: Greenpeace Misrepresents Legislation Aimed at Protecting Pipeline Projects

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CLAIM: A staff attorney for Greenpeace USA claims that legislation introduced in Statehouses across the country to protect pipeline projects and those who work on them is instead aimed at “restricting the right to protest,” even while admitting the bills “are not seeking to target protest generally, they are much more sneaky than that.”

RATING: False

FACT CHECK

The bills are not at all “sneaky,” nor do they restrict the right to legally protect. In fact, they are straightforward – and they are all aimed at illegal acts:

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