‘Weed 9’ Water Activists Present Legal Claim Against Sacramento Law Firm for Filing Malicious Lawsuit Aimed at Silencing Free Speech

April 30, 2020
Tags: #WaterRights, Weed 9
The Weed, California, community members claim Churchwell White LLP knowingly filed meritless and illegal SLAPP suit against them on behalf of Roseburg Forest Products. Eugene, OR, April 29, 2020 — Protect the Protest task force member Civil Liberties Defense Center (CLDC) filed a lawsuit in the Siskiyou County Superior Court of… Read More
Read More

Civil Liberties Defense Center to Represent Environmental and Human Rights Lawyer Steven Donziger

May 18, 2020
Tags: Chevron, Steven Donziger
Contact: Lauren Regan, CLDC(541) 687-9180 On May 15, 2020, Civil Liberties Defense Center’s (CLDC) Executive Director & Senior Staff Attorney, Lauren Regan, officially joined Steven Donziger’s legal team as a lead trial attorney. In addition to Regan and former New York federal prosecutor Andrew Frisch, the team now includes nationally… Read More
Read More

Critical Free Speech Protections Are Under Attack in Texas

March 18, 2019
Tags: Anti-SLAPP Laws, EFF, TCPA, Texas, Texas Citizens Participation Act
Joe Mullin of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) discusses an effort to weaken Texans’ right to free speech by gutting the state’s anti-SLAPP law. The article was originally published on EFF’s website and is reprinted here with permission. ——– A bill introduced in Texas threatens the free… Read More
Read More

ExxonMobil SLAPP Against Climate Change Activists

August 28, 2018
In November 2016, ExxonMobil subpoenaed over ten environmental organizations and individuals, as part of an effort to intimidate and chill the First Amendments rights of climate change activists. EarthRights International represents one of these activists, Carroll Muffett, the president of the Center for International Environmental Law.
Read More

Forestry Company Faces Challenge to Its “Responsible Timber” Certification After Waging Intimidation Campaign Against Local Community

February 27, 2019
Tags: California, Roseburg, Water, Weed
WEED, CALIFORNIA – Citizens of Weed, California filed a complaint today with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) after Oregon-based Roseburg Forest Products refused to stop its abusive tactics in a bid to privatize the community’s main source of drinking water. The complaint alleges that Roseburg,… Read More
Read More

Green Group Holdings SLAPP Against Community Activists

August 10, 2018
The ACLU represented community activists in Uniontown, Alabama who were sued for defamation when they expressed opposition to the dumping of hazardous coal ash in a landfill in their town. The landfill operator, Green Group Holdings, sued the residents for $30 million. In February 2017, the parties reached a settlement in…
Read More

Lawmakers Attempt to Open the Door for “Ag Gag” SLAPPs

December 31, 2017
Since 2012, at least 18 states have attempted to pass “ag gag” laws that prohibit undercover investigations and whistleblowing in animal agricultural facilities. In this article, the Center for Constitutional Rights(CCR) describes the amicus briefs it has submitted in cases challenging Idaho’s and Utah’s ag-gag laws. This report by the…
Read More

The Dakota Access Pipeline Company Is Abusing the Judicial System to Silence Dissent

March 04, 2019
Tags: Dakota Access Pipeline, DAPL, Energy Transfer, Greenpeace, Krystal Two Bulls, North Dakota, RICO
The ACLU discusses how pipeline company Energy Transfer is abusing the judicial system in order to suppress the rights of activists. The article is available on the ACLU’s website and is re-posted here with permission. In a win for free speech, a federal court in North Dakota recently… Read More
Read More

The First Annual SLAPP Awards 2018

February 25, 2019
Tags: awards, SLAPPies
Last year was a busy year for corporate bullies in the US. It seems nowadays that a corporation or high-ranking businessman can’t even engage in a light spot of environmental destruction, harassment, or treason without some pesky activist or journalist getting in the way. Corporate bullies have increasingly… Read More
Read More

The Term “Eco-Terrorist” is Being Used to Harass Activists

January 03, 2019
Tags: BankTrack, Dakota Access Pipeline, EarthFirst, Energy Transfer, ETP, Greenpeace, Kasowitz, Krystal Two Bulls, Standing Rock
In an article for Grist, Justine Calma and Paola Rosa-Aquino discuss a 1990s tactic that is growing in popularity once again: labeling activists as “eco-terrorists.” Across the world, we are witnessing growing efforts by governments and corporations to silence environmental activists. According to Calma and Rosa-Aquino, “The consequences of… Read More
Read More

Pipeline Protester Fights Back Against Corporation’s Sprawling, Outlandish Lawsuit

December 21, 2018
Tags: Energy Transfer, ETP, Indigenous, Kasowitz, RICO, Standing Rock
BISMARCK, ND — Krystal Two Bulls, an Oglala Lakota and Northern Cheyenne U.S. army veteran and environmental and Indigenous rights activist, today urged a federal court to dismiss a racketeering lawsuit filed against her for her role in standing for land, water, and her People against the Dakota Access Pipeline. Read More
Read More

The ‘Weed 9’ Rallies Against Corporate Water Grab and Legal Bullying

December 18, 2018
Tags: California, Civil Liberties Defense Center, CLDC, Defamation, First Amendment Project, Roseburg, Water, Weed
SPRINGFIELD, OREGON – Residents of Weed, California are rallying today outside the headquarters of Roseburg Forest Products to demand that the Springfield-based company cease its aggressive campaign to deprive them of their clean drinking water. Over 20 residents of Weed made the five hour journey to… Read More
Read More

Activists Defeat SLAPP Brought By Company With White Supremacist Ties

December 04, 2018
On November 30, 2018, San Francisco’s Superior Court issued an order granting anonymous antifascists’ motion to quash a subpoena that sought to uncover the identities of the antifascists. Civil Liberties Defense Center attorney Cooper Brinson urged the court to uphold the First Amendment rights of the antifascists to engage in anonymous… Read More
Read More

Energy Transfer Continues Aggressive Attempts to Silence Opposition: Greenpeace Report

October 18, 2018
Tags: Bayou Bridge, Energy Transfer, ETP, Greenpeace, Protest, RICO
WASHINGTON, DC, October 18, 2018 — A new Greenpeace USA report “Still Too Far: Energy Transfer Continues to Display Concerning Corporate Behavior” compiles recent evidence that the pipeline company is still aggressively trying to silence opposition to its pipelines across the United States, despite calls from communities, financial institutions,… Read More
Read More