Fossil fuel firms spent millions on US lawmakers who sponsored anti-protest bills

A new Greenpeace USA report reveals that fossil fuel companies have spent millions on lobbying and campaign donations to state lawmakers who sponsored anti-protest laws, now shielding about 60% of US gas and oil operations from protest and civil disobedience.

Eighteen states have enacted sweeping anti-protest laws boosting penalties for trespass near critical infrastructure, making it riskier for communities to oppose pipelines and fossil fuel projects threatening their land, water and climate. Nine of the top 10 companies lobbying for these bills since 2017 are fossil fuel firms, including ExxonMobil, Koch Industries, and Marathon Petroleum. Twenty-five fossil fuel companies contributed over $5 million to anti-protest bill sponsors.

The report documents tactics deployed since the 2016 Dakota Access Pipeline protests, including mass arrests, litigation, harsh policing, and public relations efforts depicting activists as extremists. Since 2017, over 250 anti-protest bills have been introduced in 45 states, including legislation eliminating driver liability for hitting protesters and creating felony offenses for demonstrations.

The image shows protesters at a demonstration, with people wearing traditional Indigenous clothing including colorful striped and purple garments. A prominent white sign reads — Indigenous youth demonstrate against oil pipelines in Washington DC in April 2021.

"We are seeing an escalation of tactics to criminalize, bully, and sue those working for climate action," said Ebony Twilley Martin, Greenpeace USA's executive director. "Frontline activists should not face extreme, life-altering legal risks for putting their bodies on the line to keep our planet habitable."

Lawmakers claim the bills prevent violence, despite existing laws already banning violent acts and the overwhelming majority of protests being nonviolent. In Minnesota, over 1,000 arrests were made as nonviolent protesters opposed the Line 3 pipeline expansion.

Fossil fuel firms increasingly use civil litigation to intimidate activists, with 75% of strategic lawsuits since 2010 linked to companies lobbying for anti-protest laws. This year saw the fatal police shooting of environmental activist Manuel Esteban Paez Terán in Atlanta.

The American Petroleum Institute said it supported "peaceful protest" but opposed "criminal activity or physical violence," arguing that eliminating energy options would leave Americans "beholden to unstable foreign regions."