Being SLAPPed in the face with a liability of more than US$660 million for something we so clearly did not do is not for the faint of heart. But we are not faint of heart. Greenpeace has never been a movement that shies away from big fights.
The ongoing battle against Big Oil bully Energy Transfer's meritless SLAPP lawsuit is a fight for freedom of speech and the right to peaceful protest. And it is far from over.
Greenpeace needs your support against Big Oil's attempt to silence us!
In the aftermath of a jury in North Dakota finding Greenpeace entities in the United States (Greenpeace, Inc., Greenpeace Fund), and Greenpeace International liable for more than US$660 million, I keep getting asked by journalists about the evidence that was presented against us in the trial.
Let me be absolutely clear: Energy Transfer's lawyers DID NOT PRESENT A SINGLE PIECE OF CREDIBLE EVIDENCE to support their absurd claims that Greenpeace entities orchestrated the Indigenous-led global Standing Rock movement against the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Instead, they relied on a combination of general reports from the protests and constitutionally-protected speech from the Greenpeace entities and the climate movement to create a cloud of suspicion over Greenpeace and undermine Indigenous leadership.
This is a historic storm, and we are standing in its eye. We are standing firm. This is what we were made for.
For example, in February 2025, Greenpeace International initiated the first test of the European Union's anti-SLAPP Directive by filing a lawsuit in Dutch court against ET. The next hearing will be in July.
Meanwhile, my inbox is being flooded since the verdict with messages of solidarity from across the world. It is well understood that this lawsuit and outcome threatens not only the future of Greenpeace in the US, but that unchallenged it could open the floodgates for more corporate attacks on activists, journalists, and organisations fighting for justice. The chilling effect on advocacy would be devastating and send echoes across the world.
The outpouring of support from movement partners and the countless offers to help have been deeply moving and inspiring. I want to thank all our friends and allies who are spreading the word far and wide and working alongside us in this fight.
Together, we can ensure THE FUTURE WILL NOT BE WRITTEN BY BILLIONAIRE BULLIES. It will be written by all of us acting in solidarity to put people and planet before private profit.
As I write this, Greenpeace ship the Rainbow Warrior is in the Marshall Islands, at the request of Indigenous communities to support their ongoing struggle for nuclear and climate justice. It reminds me that the last time the system came after Greenpeace like this, 40 years ago-not with a SLAPP, but with a bomb-they miscalculated.
They thought they could break us. They thought they could intimidate us into silence. They were wrong. They blew wind into our sails and we grew bigger and stronger than ever before.
We will not back down.
We will not be silenced.
