In no way am I a pacifist to those of us dividing our nation.
Sure, there are times when I have to choose my battles but not initially.
The Dakota Access Pipeline protest has been an ongoing battle since the Obama administration.
Since then, it's been a tug-of-war between protesters and big oil with changing administrations adjusting the leverage for one side or the other.
The Trump administration obviously leveraged the fossil fuel industry.
But he also led an insurrection against the US Capitol in order to try to steal the election.
There's a great effort being made to hold him and his lot accountable.
A number of Capitol police are even suing him for terrorism.
To mirror that, at this time, an anti-pipeline protester is already facing terrorism charges for setting fire to pipeline machinery.
The actions of that protester, Jessica Reznicek, are not that much different from the damage caused by Trump's followers.
The only difference is that in her case, there were no deaths involved.
But the pushback against charges of terrorism is not immune to the comparison.
Dakota Access Pipeline Protester's Terrorism Charges
Both Reznicek and Ruby Montoya would have gotten away with it too if they hadn't come out publicly to take credit for the sabotage.
Their actions against the pipeline, though not as severe as those behind the Jan 6 attack, are still enough for a company that wants to make an example of someone, to do so severely.
Trump's terrorists have blanket protection by right-wing lawmakers being that they're attached to the former President.
The Dakota Access Pipeline protesters don't have that.
It shouldn't be surprising that a private company would take advantage of labeling the actions taken by the activists as terrorism.
This also has the backing of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) since a private company can claim an attack on energy infrastructure can be considered a federal concern.
How do the activists expect to fight that?
Well, given the fact they admitted to it and sacrificed themselves to the cause, they didn't expect to get away with it.
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Perhaps the only thing that could help reduce the charges is that it didn't permanently stop the pipeline.
Then we come back to the fact that it damaged company property which gives them carte blanche to prosecute as they want.
Here's an interview with the Dakota Access pipeline protesters from 2017.
Thus far, only Jessica has been sentenced while Montoya's has yet to be determined.
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