"We
never at all threatened human life," said climate campaigner Jessica
Reznicek in 2017, but were "acting in an effort to save human life, to
save our planet, to save our resources." (Photo: Peg Hunter/flickr/cc)
A Tale of Two
Damages: Double Standard for Jessica Reznicek and Energy Transfer Partners
Why
would a billion-dollar corporation which intentionally and illegally destroyed
private property for profit not even get a slap on the wrist while a person who
commits civil disobedience to protect the earth and its people is labeled a
terrorist and imprisoned for eight years?
October
25, 2021
Jessica Reznicek was sentenced to eight years in federal prison, ordered to pay millions in fines and labeled a terrorist by the government for her actions of civil disobedience that damaged the equipment of the Dakota Access Pipeline. The Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) is owned by Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) a $54 billion dollar corporation that also co-owns the Bayou Bridge Pipeline. When ETP intentionally and illegally damaged the private property of hundreds of people in Louisiana, the company received no criminal consequences at all.
Both actors damaged private
property. Jessica Reznicek was labeled a domestic terrorist that
is, “dangerous to human life.” Even after the courts deemed Bayou
Bridge’s property destruction illegal, the company received no criminal charges
and the company was ordered by the district court to pay a mere $150 to each
objector. To understand why these two actors have received such different
consequences in response to their private property destruction, we must examine
their current places within existing power structures.
In July 2017, Jessica Reznicek and
a friend from the Des Moines Catholic Worker community held a press conference and
admitted several acts of civil
disobedience which damaged the construction of the Dakota
Access pipeline across Iowa. “We are speaking publicly to
empower others to act boldly, with purity of heart, to dismantle the infrastructures
which deny us our rights to water, land, and liberty,” they
said. No one was harmed as a result of their actions.
On October 9, 2019, the U.S.
Department of Justice brought nine felony charges against
Reznicek and her co-defendant. Reznicek always admitted she had engaged
in civil disobedience and damaged property and did so in court.
On June 30, 2021, she was sentenced to
eight years in federal prison and ordered to pay $3,198,512.70
restitution. At sentencing, the federal judge agreed to the prosecution
request to impose a terrorism enhancement upon
Reznicek’s sentence, even though she was never charged with any acts of
terrorism nor did she plead guilty to terrorism. Intentionally, no one was
harmed during their actions at remote valve sites. Jessica Reznicek is now in
federal prison while her sentence is being appealed.
“I think you’re talking about
somebody who needs to be removed from the gene pool” ETP CEO Kelcy Warren
remarked in response to their actions. The Dakota Access Pipeline is operated
by Energy Transfer Partners which has
over 10,000 employees and operates more than 90,000 miles of
pipeline.
In the summer of 2018, Bayou Bridge
Pipeline, a continuation of the Dakota Access Pipeline, began illegally
destroying trees and land in the Atchafalaya River Basin in Louisiana,
America’s largest freshwater swamp. Bayou Bridge Pipeline is
a pipeline operating as a joint venture of Energy Transfer Partners and
Phillips 66 Partners and operated by ETP. Kelcy Warren’s net worth is estimated
at $4 billion.
Bayou Bridge used barges and huge
machines to dredge out large long trenches, while they began construction of a
pipeline through private property in the Atchafalaya Basin in Louisiana.
The corporation savagely altered the environment as it plowed through -
see pictures of its destruction here and here and here. They
also damaged private property with no legal authority to do so.
They did not have a court order nor
did they have permission from hundreds of co-owners.
A few small property owners
objected. Months after Bayou Bridge Pipeline destroyed their private
property, a Louisiana state district court judge agreed that the action was
absolutely illegal but only awarded the objectors one hundred and fifty dollars ($150.00) each in
damages. Both a court of appeal and the Louisiana Supreme Court agreed that
the destruction of the private property was totally illegal. On appeal,
damages of $10,000 plus attorney fees to the property owners were ultimately
confirmed by the Louisiana Supreme Court.
Neither Bayou Bridge Pipeline nor
ETP were ever prosecuted by any federal, state or local authorities. The
corporations poured money into state and local law enforcement by hiring a
security company which hired state and local law enforcement to
arrest people who protested against their illegal actions. To date, there
have been no criminal consequences for ETP nor Bayou Bridge for their illegal
destruction of private property.
So, why would a billion-dollar
corporation which intentionally and illegally destroyed private property for
profit not even get a slap on the wrist while a person who commits civil
disobedience to protect the earth and its people is labeled a terrorist and
imprisoned for eight years?
Four reasons explain the double
standard.
One is Donald Trump,
who was President when the charges were brought against Jessica Reznicek and
not brought against ETP. The Guardian reported
that Donald Trump invested somewhere between $500,000 and $1 million dollars in
ETP and leaders of ETP gave well over $100,000 to Donald Trump’s election
campaign. Energy Transfer Partners was represented by a law firm
assisting Donald Trump in the 2016 campaign.
Two is the
general power that huge corporations like ETP exercise over all phases of
society. Government officials must constantly appease the
financial powerful, as they did in this instance.
Three is the
ongoing campaign to label all protestors who damage property as
terrorists. Human Rights Watch pointed
out that environmental activists committing civil disobedience have been
charged as terrorists across the globe for years. The Intercept likewise
reported that U.S. Attorney General activated the FBI Joint Terrorism Task
Forces to go after Black Lives Matter protestors.
Four is the
nationwide campaign by oil and gas interests to hyper criminalize protests
around pipelines. Under the leadership of the right wing American Legislative Council,
dozens of bills and executive orders have been introduced in over 30 states to
up the penalties for people who protest against oil and gas pipelines according
to Inside Climate News.
More than a dozen states have passed those laws, according to the National Conference of State
Legislatures.
Any readers who are interested in
fighting back can find more information at- Protecting Water is Never Terrorism:
Repeal Jessica Reznicek’s Terrorism Enhancement.
Our
work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to
republish and share widely.
Charlotte Grubb is a freelance researcher, writer, and climate justice organizer. Her work focuses on stopping fossil fuel projects and creating a just transition that centers decolonization.
Donations can be sent
to Max Obuszewski, Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 431 Notre Dame Lane, Apt. 206,
Baltimore, MD 21212. Ph: 410-323-1607; Email: mobuszewski2001 [at]
comcast.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/
"The master class
has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles.
The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject
class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their
lives." Eugene Victor Debs
Frank Cordaro [mailto:frank.cordaro@gmail.com]
Monday, October 25, 2021 7:49 PM
Oct 25, 2921 - "A Tale of Two Damages: Double
Standard for Jessica Reznicek and Energy Transfer Partners" by CHARLOTTE
GRUBB, Common Dreams https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/10/25/tale-two-damages-double-standard-jessica-reznicek-and-energy-transfer-partners?utm_term=AO&utm_campaign=Daily%20Newsletter&utm_content=email&utm_source=Daily%20Newsletter&utm_medium=Email
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Free Jessica Reznicek Web Page https://supportjessicareznicek.com/
Write:
Jessica Reznicek # 19293-030
FCI Waseca
PO Box 1731
Waseca, MN 56093
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2021 Jess Reznicek postings
https://frankcordaro.wordpress.com/2021/07/02/2021-jess-reznicek-postings/
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