home.social

#blackwater — Public Fediverse posts

Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #blackwater, aggregated by home.social.

  1. @justbob , I came across this and thought of you...

    From 2016:

    #StandingRock Camp Battles Cyber Blockers, Improves Service

    By #BrendaNorrell, #CensoredNews
    Sat., Dec. 10, 2016

    UPDATES -- "Composting toilets save the day. Crews finished installing composting toilets, even some in heated tents, after the port-a-potties were yanked from Oceti Sakowin Camp. And work has been underway to fight back at the cyber blockers. Turns out they don't like being pinged to expose who they are, including cops who use stingrays to imitate cell towers to gain access to your cellphone. On Friday, five semi truckloads of supplies arrived, purchased from Amazon -- by good hearts around the world -- in response to the Last Real Indians wish list. Donors are also helping Last Real Indians purchase pickup trucks and vehicles for camp. The Dine' Camp at Oceti Sakowin is standing strong, with a new hogan. Across the river, Rosebud Camp and Sacred Stone Camp are resilient.

    Standing Strong for Standing Rock."

    bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2016/12

    #StandWithStandingRock #NoDAPL #NeverForgetStandingRock #USGovt #USPol #ErikPrince #Blackwater #PrivateSecurity #BigOilAndGas #CorporateCriminals #Oiligarchy

  2. #HellsArmy”: New Film Tracks #Russia’s #WagnerGroup & Rise of #MercenaryArmies

    June 12, 2026

    "We speak with Oscar-nominated filmmaker #RickRowley about his new documentary, Hell’s Army. The film tracks the Wagner Group, the notorious Russian mercenary army that has fought in #Ukraine and other parts of the world. The group’s founder, #YevgenyPrigozhin, was a confidant to Putin until a failed 2023 mutiny against the government. He died in a suspicious plane crash two months later.

    " 'We realized that he could be killed, the leader of this army could be killed, but its model continues,' says Rowley. 'Around the world, #oligarchs are turning to mercenary armies, and it’s a scourge that needs to be stopped.'

    "Hell’s Army has its North American premiere Friday in Washington, D.C."

    Read / watch / listen:
    democracynow.org/2026/6/12/hel

    #PMCWagner #ErikPrince #Mercenaries #Blackwater #Oligarchy #ГруппаВагнера #Prigozhin #CorporateColonialism #ErikPrinceColonialism #PrivateSecurity

  3. #Blackwater Successor Hunts #Immigrants for #ICE

    #ConstellisHoldings, which traces its roots to #ErikPrince’s #mercenary firm Blackwater, landed an ICE contract as a #BountyHunter.

    by Sam Biddle
    January 3 2026

    Excerpt: "#Constellis was formed in 2014 through the merger of #Academi, previously known as Blackwater, and #TripleCanopy, a rival mercenary contractor. The combined companies and their subsidiaries have reaped billions from contracts for guarding foreign military installations, embassies, and domestic properties, along with work for the Department of Homeland Security [#DHS] and U.S. spy agencies.

    "Blackwater, founded in 1997 by Erik Prince, renamed itself multiple times over the years after it sparked international scandal for its violent work in #Iraq. In 2007, Blackwater #mercenaries massacred 14 #civilians in #Baghdad; several of its contractors serving prison sentences for the killings were pardoned by President Donald #Trump in 2020.

    "Prince resigned as CEO of Blackwater in 2009, and Constellis says it has no relationship with him.

    "Though there are no ties between them, Constellis’s move to serve as a bounty hunter for ICE aligns with Prince’s reported interest in privatizing immigration enforcement.

    "The government has so far paid Constellis $1.5 million, with the potential for the total to grow to more than $113 million.

    "In February, Politico reported that Prince — a longtime and steadfast Trump ally — was among a group of military contractors who urged the federal government to employ a '#SkipTracingTeam' and 'bounty program which provides a cash reward' to incentivize the rapid tracking of immigrants. The proposal suggested that, due to a lack of federal manpower, ICE should deputize private citizens to help track down immigrants."

    Read more:
    theintercept.com/2026/01/03/bl

    Archived version:
    archive.ph/8sHUN

    #NoHumanIsIllegal #ResistICE #HuntingImmigrants #ErikPrinceColonialism #ErikPrinceIsWarCriminal #TrumpIsAWarCriminal #USPol #TrumpSucks #ChristoFascism

  4. From 2017: The Return of #ErikPrince
    #Trump's Knight in America's New Crusade?

    Excerpt: "While the centerpiece of Trump’s foreign policy is the annihilation of ISIS, he has been candid about eyeing the Middle Eastern #oil reserves:

    " 'I would knock the source of their [ISIS]
    wealth, the primary source of their wealth,
    which is oil. […] I would knock the hell out of them, but I’d put a ring around it and I’d take the oil for our country.'

    "During the last months of the [2016] campaign, Trump galvanized his supporters by calling Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton the founders of ISIS, and promised the end of a policy 'of nation-
    building and regime change.' Instead, he declared his goal to defeat radical Islam.

    "As foreign policy became a central theme of the presidential campaign, Clinton’s diplomacy record came under fierce attack. An ardent detractor was no other than #ErikPrince, the founder of #Blackwater, the notorious private military company."

    Read more [PDF]:
    oaklandinstitute.org/sites/def

    #ErikPrinceColonialism #Oiligarchy
    #TrumpIsABully #USPol #WorldPol #TrumpSucks #Authoritarianism
    #Oil #ErikPrinceIsAWarCriminal #ChristoFascism #Venezuela #ItsAllAboutTheOil!

  5. Mercenary Boss #ErikPrince’s Political and Commercial Motivations in #Venezuela

    September 14, 2024

    "This, however, does not imply that if Prince sells an invasion of Venezuela, a hypothetical new Trump administration would automatically approve the point of account. In fact, it has been quite the opposite since Prince was indicted for #Blackwater’s crimes in #Iraq, but that has not distanced him from his political and business obsessions. Citing the aforementioned work by Inlakesh, 'according to four sources cited by Reuters, in 2019, Prince was pressuring the #Trump administration aiming to deploy a #PrivateArmy in Venezuela to overthrow the democratically elected socialist leader #NicolásMaduro.' "

    Read more:
    orinocotribune.com/mercenary-b

    #ErikPrinceColonialism #Oiligarchy #TrumpIsABully #USPol #WorldPol #TrumpSucks #Authoritarianism #Oil #ErikPrinceIsAWarCriminal

  6. Hmmmm... 🤔 From 2024.

    #Blackwater founder probed by #Venezuela over anti-#Maduro campaign

    25/09/2024

    Caracas (AFP) – "Venezuelan authorities launched an investigation Tuesday into a mysterious online fundraiser fronted by the founder of infamous US security contractor Blackwater, who claims to have raised over $1 million towards ousting President #NicolasMaduro.

    [...]

    "When the countdown ended, the campaign turned into a fundraiser led by Blackwater founder Erik Prince, a former Navy SEAL with links to US ex-president Donald Trump."

    Read more:
    france24.com/en/live-news/2024

    #USPol #WorldPol #TrumpSucks #Authoritarianism #Oil #Oiligarchy #ErikPrinceIsAWarCriminal

  7. [Podcast] The return of Erik Prince - The comeback of America’s most infamous mercenary

    Nov 1st 2025

    "Erik Prince, America’s most infamous mercenary, is back.

    "Mr Prince rose to prominence during the war on terror as the founder of #Blackwater, a private military company. The firm earned over a billion dollars providing armed personnel to various branches of the US government before becoming implicated in a number of scandals. In 2007 its contractors killed 14 Iraqi civilians, including a nine-year-old child. The massacre made Mr Prince the face of the Iraq fiasco. He sold the company and disappeared from the public eye.

    "But in recent months Mr Prince has reemerged. He has popped up in some of the most dangerous, contested places in the world, from Ukraine to Haiti to the DRC. They are places the Trump administration is interested in too.

    "For the Weekend Intelligence the Economist’s Africa Correspondent, Tom Gardner, flew to Cape Town to meet with Prince, the mercenary in CEO’s clothing. Prince is defiant after his years in the political wilderness. And he’s spying some big opportunities. The global mercenary business is on the brink of a new boom. States, across Africa and beyond, are fracturing. The international system is fraying. With UN peacekeepers drawing down, from Mali to Congo to Lebanon, mercenaries of different stripes can expect to fill the void."

    Read more / listen:
    economist.com/podcasts/2025/11

    Archived version:
    archive.ph/YYhBY

    #Blackwater
    #ErikPrinceColonialism
    #SilencingDissent
    #USPol #Project2025 #CriminalizingActivism
    #ClimateActivists #NoDAPL #Crapitalism
    #Fascism #Trump #ChristoFascist
    #CorporateFascism #SilencingDissent #ClimateActivists #Activists #NoDAPL #CriminalizingDissent
    #CrackdownOnProtests #AntiProtestLaws #CorporateFascism #CorporateColonialism
    #CharacteristicsOfFascism #ErikPrinceColonialism #Academi #TripleCanopy #SilencingDissent #ErikPrinceIsAWarCriminal

  8. [Podcast] The return of Erik Prince - The comeback of America’s most infamous mercenary

    Nov 1st 2025

    "Erik Prince, America’s most infamous mercenary, is back.

    "Mr Prince rose to prominence during the war on terror as the founder of #Blackwater, a private military company. The firm earned over a billion dollars providing armed personnel to various branches of the US government before becoming implicated in a number of scandals. In 2007 its contractors killed 14 Iraqi civilians, including a nine-year-old child. The massacre made Mr Prince the face of the Iraq fiasco. He sold the company and disappeared from the public eye.

    "But in recent months Mr Prince has reemerged. He has popped up in some of the most dangerous, contested places in the world, from Ukraine to Haiti to the DRC. They are places the Trump administration is interested in too.

    "For the Weekend Intelligence the Economist’s Africa Correspondent, Tom Gardner, flew to Cape Town to meet with Prince, the mercenary in CEO’s clothing. Prince is defiant after his years in the political wilderness. And he’s spying some big opportunities. The global mercenary business is on the brink of a new boom. States, across Africa and beyond, are fracturing. The international system is fraying. With UN peacekeepers drawing down, from Mali to Congo to Lebanon, mercenaries of different stripes can expect to fill the void."

    Read more / listen:
    economist.com/podcasts/2025/11

    Archived version:
    archive.ph/YYhBY

    #Blackwater
    #ErikPrinceColonialism
    #SilencingDissent
    #USPol #Project2025 #CriminalizingActivism
    #ClimateActivists #NoDAPL #Crapitalism
    #Fascism #Trump #ChristoFascist
    #CorporateFascism #SilencingDissent #ClimateActivists #Activists #NoDAPL #CriminalizingDissent
    #CrackdownOnProtests #AntiProtestLaws #CorporateFascism #CorporateColonialism
    #CharacteristicsOfFascism #ErikPrinceColonialism #Academi #TripleCanopy #SilencingDissent #ErikPrinceIsAWarCriminal

  9. [Podcast] The return of Erik Prince - The comeback of America’s most infamous mercenary

    Nov 1st 2025

    "Erik Prince, America’s most infamous mercenary, is back.

    "Mr Prince rose to prominence during the war on terror as the founder of #Blackwater, a private military company. The firm earned over a billion dollars providing armed personnel to various branches of the US government before becoming implicated in a number of scandals. In 2007 its contractors killed 14 Iraqi civilians, including a nine-year-old child. The massacre made Mr Prince the face of the Iraq fiasco. He sold the company and disappeared from the public eye.

    "But in recent months Mr Prince has reemerged. He has popped up in some of the most dangerous, contested places in the world, from Ukraine to Haiti to the DRC. They are places the Trump administration is interested in too.

    "For the Weekend Intelligence the Economist’s Africa Correspondent, Tom Gardner, flew to Cape Town to meet with Prince, the mercenary in CEO’s clothing. Prince is defiant after his years in the political wilderness. And he’s spying some big opportunities. The global mercenary business is on the brink of a new boom. States, across Africa and beyond, are fracturing. The international system is fraying. With UN peacekeepers drawing down, from Mali to Congo to Lebanon, mercenaries of different stripes can expect to fill the void."

    Read more / listen:
    economist.com/podcasts/2025/11

    Archived version:
    archive.ph/YYhBY

    #Blackwater
    #ErikPrinceColonialism
    #SilencingDissent
    #USPol #Project2025 #CriminalizingActivism
    #ClimateActivists #NoDAPL #Crapitalism
    #Fascism #Trump #ChristoFascist
    #CorporateFascism #SilencingDissent #ClimateActivists #Activists #NoDAPL #CriminalizingDissent
    #CrackdownOnProtests #AntiProtestLaws #CorporateFascism #CorporateColonialism
    #CharacteristicsOfFascism #ErikPrinceColonialism #Academi #TripleCanopy #SilencingDissent #ErikPrinceIsAWarCriminal

  10. [Podcast] The return of Erik Prince - The comeback of America’s most infamous mercenary

    Nov 1st 2025

    "Erik Prince, America’s most infamous mercenary, is back.

    "Mr Prince rose to prominence during the war on terror as the founder of #Blackwater, a private military company. The firm earned over a billion dollars providing armed personnel to various branches of the US government before becoming implicated in a number of scandals. In 2007 its contractors killed 14 Iraqi civilians, including a nine-year-old child. The massacre made Mr Prince the face of the Iraq fiasco. He sold the company and disappeared from the public eye.

    "But in recent months Mr Prince has reemerged. He has popped up in some of the most dangerous, contested places in the world, from Ukraine to Haiti to the DRC. They are places the Trump administration is interested in too.

    "For the Weekend Intelligence the Economist’s Africa Correspondent, Tom Gardner, flew to Cape Town to meet with Prince, the mercenary in CEO’s clothing. Prince is defiant after his years in the political wilderness. And he’s spying some big opportunities. The global mercenary business is on the brink of a new boom. States, across Africa and beyond, are fracturing. The international system is fraying. With UN peacekeepers drawing down, from Mali to Congo to Lebanon, mercenaries of different stripes can expect to fill the void."

    Read more / listen:
    economist.com/podcasts/2025/11

    Archived version:
    archive.ph/YYhBY

    #Blackwater
    #ErikPrinceColonialism
    #SilencingDissent
    #USPol #Project2025 #CriminalizingActivism
    #ClimateActivists #NoDAPL #Crapitalism
    #Fascism #Trump #ChristoFascist
    #CorporateFascism #SilencingDissent #ClimateActivists #Activists #NoDAPL #CriminalizingDissent
    #CrackdownOnProtests #AntiProtestLaws #CorporateFascism #CorporateColonialism
    #CharacteristicsOfFascism #ErikPrinceColonialism #Academi #TripleCanopy #SilencingDissent #ErikPrinceIsAWarCriminal

  11. [Podcast] The return of Erik Prince - The comeback of America’s most infamous mercenary

    Nov 1st 2025

    "Erik Prince, America’s most infamous mercenary, is back.

    "Mr Prince rose to prominence during the war on terror as the founder of #Blackwater, a private military company. The firm earned over a billion dollars providing armed personnel to various branches of the US government before becoming implicated in a number of scandals. In 2007 its contractors killed 14 Iraqi civilians, including a nine-year-old child. The massacre made Mr Prince the face of the Iraq fiasco. He sold the company and disappeared from the public eye.

    "But in recent months Mr Prince has reemerged. He has popped up in some of the most dangerous, contested places in the world, from Ukraine to Haiti to the DRC. They are places the Trump administration is interested in too.

    "For the Weekend Intelligence the Economist’s Africa Correspondent, Tom Gardner, flew to Cape Town to meet with Prince, the mercenary in CEO’s clothing. Prince is defiant after his years in the political wilderness. And he’s spying some big opportunities. The global mercenary business is on the brink of a new boom. States, across Africa and beyond, are fracturing. The international system is fraying. With UN peacekeepers drawing down, from Mali to Congo to Lebanon, mercenaries of different stripes can expect to fill the void."

    Read more / listen:
    economist.com/podcasts/2025/11

    Archived version:
    archive.ph/YYhBY

    #Blackwater
    #ErikPrinceColonialism
    #SilencingDissent
    #USPol #Project2025 #CriminalizingActivism
    #ClimateActivists #NoDAPL #Crapitalism
    #Fascism #Trump #ChristoFascist
    #CorporateFascism #SilencingDissent #ClimateActivists #Activists #NoDAPL #CriminalizingDissent
    #CrackdownOnProtests #AntiProtestLaws #CorporateFascism #CorporateColonialism
    #CharacteristicsOfFascism #ErikPrinceColonialism #Academi #TripleCanopy #SilencingDissent #ErikPrinceIsAWarCriminal

  12. HT @wendysiegelman

    "Trump EO 'Project Homecoming' says after 60 days #DHS will add 'no less than 20,000 officers in order to conduct an intensive campaign to remove illegal aliens who have failed to depart voluntarily' - double the 10,000 agents Erik Prince had in his $25Bil proposal"

    whitehouse.gov/presidential-ac

    #Trump #TrumpEO #USPol #ErikPrince #ErikPrinceColonialism #Blackwater #PrivateSecurity #PrivatePrisons #Gestapo #ProjectHomecoming

  13. Michigan native #ErikPrince proposes #deportation plan to #ElSalvador, report says

    By Justin Engel, Apr. 14, 2025

    "Erik Prince, the former CEO of #Blackwater USA and a Michigan native, is among a group of defense contractors proposing to expand plans for deporting #immigrants to a prison in El Salvador, Politico reported.

    "The pitch would attempt to avoid #legal challenges by designating part of the El Salvador prison system as #AmericanTerritory, the report stated.

    " 'It’s unclear how seriously the White House is considering the plan by Prince, who has drawn scrutiny for his firm’s role in a deadly massacre in Iraq two decades ago,' the Politico report stated. 'But it would give Prince’s group an unprecedented and potentially highly lucrative role in an expanded version of a transnational operation that has elicited its own web of controversies, in part because it has swept up immigrants who do not have criminal records in the United States.'

    "The report coincides with President Donald Trump’s plans to host #NayibBukele, the president of El Salvador, at the White House on Monday, April 14.

    "Since March, El Salvador has accepted from the U.S. more than 200 #Venezuelan immigrants — whom officials with President Donald Trump’s administration have accused of gang activity and violent crimes — and placed them inside the country’s notorious maximum-security gang prison. It is also holding a Maryland man who the administration admits was wrongly deported but has not been returned to the U.S., despite court orders to do so.

    "Trump has ties to the family of Prince, an automotive supplier heir from Holland. Prince is the brother of #BetsyDeVos, the secretary of education during the first Trump administration.

    "Prince, a major Republican donor, has been accused of acting as a back channel on behalf of Trump. As Trump was preparing to take office in 2017, Prince met with a official close to Russian President Vladimir #Putin in the #Seychelles, islands off the coast of east Africa. Special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on his Russia investigation said the meeting was set up ahead of time with the knowledge of former White House aide #StephenBannon.

    "Prince soared to notoriety after Blackwater USA employees in 2007 shot and killed #Iraqi #civilians in Baghdad’s #NisourSquare during the Iraq war, casting a light on the role played by private contractors in U.S. military operations overseas.

    "In the wake of the scandal the company’s name was changed and Prince sold his shares to a private equity fund."

    mlive.com/politics/2025/04/mic

    #ErikPrinceColonialism #Blackwater #Academi #ErikPrinceIsAWarCriminal #TripleCanopy #PrivateArmy #OffLeash #ProjectVeritas #Project2025 #TigerSwan #Fascism
    #Authoritarianism

  14. #ErikPrince: Private sector can help with #MassDeportations

    Leland Vittert
    Tue, February 25, 2025

    "Erik Prince, founder of the former security contractor #Blackwater, denied proposing a 'private army' for mass deportations and instead described a logistics plan to help the #Trump administration fulfill its immigration goals.

    " 'This is not some idea of a private army,' Prince said Tuesday on NewsNation’s On Balance. 'It was a memo generated to describe how to achieve the logistics necessary to move the millions of people that they intend to deport.'

    "Prince pushed back against a Politico report that described a plan circulated among Trump allies calling for 'processing camps' and a private citizen force to carry out deportations.

    "He said that the memo outlines how to accomplish mass deportations 'in a #legal, #ethical manner” with necessary #DueProcess. [WHAT A JOKE!!!]

    " 'If people think it’s a huge number, think about how we’ve been invaded. We’ve had millions of people float into the country illegally, actually paying the cartels to smuggle them in,' Prince said.

    "According to the Politico report, Prince and other contractors submitted a 26-page proposal before Trump’s inauguration that included using private aircraft, 'processing camps' on military bases, and deputizing private citizens to make arrests.

    "The plan reportedly carries a $25 billion price tag to deport 12 million people before the 2026 midterms.

    "Prince suggested the government would eventually need the private sector to help achieve Trump’s immigration goals, noting that deportation flights 'for years, even when other administrations are doing it, were largely contractor managed and operated.'

    Source:
    yahoo.com/news/erik-prince-pri

    #ErikPrinceColonialism #PrivateArmy #ErikPrinceColonialism #Blackwater #Academi #ErikPrinceIsAWarCriminal #TripleCanopy #PrivateArmy #OffLeash #ProjectVeritas #Project2025 #TigerSwan #Fascism #Authoritarianism #PrivateSecurity

  15. HT @wendysiegelman

    #Venezuela accuses US of plotting ‘false flag attack’ on Guyana oil platform

    Venezuela’s VP said US Sect of State Marco Rubio and #Blackwater founder Erik Prince were behind alleged attack plan to blame Caracas for an attack on oil giant #ExxonMobil in neighboring #Guyana

    #ErikPrince #MarcoRubio #Venezuela #FalseFlag #ErikPrinceColonialism #Oiligarchy

    scmp.com/news/world/americas/a

  16. #StandingRock Chair on #Greenpeace Verdict -- False, Self-serving Narrative in Insulting Lawsuit

    "If Greenpeace can be held liable for telling the truth about #SiouxNation Treaty rights, then we are all in trouble."

    By Standing Rock Chairwoman Janet Alkire, via #CensoredNews, March 27, 2025

    "As Chairwoman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, I take offense to the jury verdict in the #EnergyTransfer #SLAPP lawsuit against Greenpeace. We expect more from #NorthDakota judges and members of the jury from our neighboring communities.

    "#EnergyTransfer’s claims in this case were ridiculous. They were wholly disrespectful of the #StandingRockSioux Tribe, our ancestors, and our youth, who started the movement in 2016 to protect our water from an oil spill from #DAPL. Neither Greenpeace nor anyone else paid or persuaded Standing Rock to oppose DAPL.

    "Our young people and our elders urged us to protect our water and #UnciMakah (grandmother earth). That is what happened, and is happening still. Energy Transfer’s false and self-serving narrative that Greenpeace manipulated Standing Rock into protesting DAPL is patronizing and disrespectful to our people.

    "We understand that many Morton County residents support the #OilIndustry, even out-of-state #pipeline companies such as Energy Transfer. But we are your neighbors, and you should not be fooled that easily. Energy Transfer does not know us. They don’t know who we are – an Indigenous Nation that has survived every attack because our ancestors are with us.

    "Greenpeace did not manipulate Standing Rock, but #EnergyTransfer has manipulated #MortonCounty. DAPL crosses our Treaty and aboriginal land for hundreds of miles.

    "Our ancestors occupied this land for thousands of years before #NorthDakota came into existence. The land between the Heart and Missouri River are our #unceded Treaty lands under the 1868 and 1851 Fort Laramie Treaties. Our aboriginally-occupied territories extend east to the James River and beyond. That is a historical truth. If Greenpeace can be held liable for telling the truth about Sioux Nation Treaty rights, then we are all in trouble.

    "The construction of Fort Rice on our northern boundary in 1864 was a violation of the Fort Laramie Treaties. This required our Tribe to be vigilant. No one should be surprised that warrior society burials are found in this area, near the pipeline route.

    "And do not insult our cultural experts, who have wisdom over matters most residents of Morton County or bureaucrats at the State Historical Society know absolutely nothing about. Energy Transfer and its lawyers should be ashamed of themselves. Everyday North Dakotans on the jury should know better.

    "When it comes to the excessive police and private security response to the generally peaceful protests at #CannonBall, believe your eyes. The scenes of guard dogs menacing Tribal members are reminiscent of the violence of #WhiteSupremacists in the #DeepSouth during the 1950’s and 60’s, but it was in North Dakota, in this day and age. It was on the news and on the internet.

    "Many of the protesters were Native American veterans of the United States armed forces. Energy Transfer used attack dogs against peaceful protesters and war heroes. But the jury sided with the out-of-state, unlicensed security with the attack dogs, instead of North Dakota veterans who supported Standing Rock.

    "A Texas oil company has come to North Dakota, and its lawyers and propaganda machine are weaving stories about how the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and our supporters have lied, and how the poor pipeline company, a trillion dollars richer than in 2016 when this all started, should receive extra millions from non-profit organizations. It’s a funny thing about liars – they always accuse everyone else of lying. The Greenpeace trial was marked by secrecy.

    "The court is not making the transcript public. The documents obtained by Greenpeace about Energy Transfer’s terrible safety record are protected by a secrecy order and are not available to the public. The judge exhibited so much bias in favor of Energy Transfer that a team of international human rights lawyers felt compelled to monitor the trial. One prominent monitor stated 'In my six decades of legal practice, I have never witnessed a trial as unfair as the one against Greenpeace that just ended in the courts of North Dakota.'

    "Standing Rock has tried to work for greater transparency on DAPL. It is our experience with the Army Corps of Engineers and Energy Transfer that all documents relating to DAPL pipeline safety are heavily redacted, and kept secret. What are they hiding? Who is looking out for the communities that may be affected by an oil spill? And why didn’t the North Dakota court allow Greenpeace to address these questions at the trial?

    "DAPL is a dangerous pipeline. It crosses our unceded Treaty and aboriginal land. Energy Transfer destroyed Tribal burials as identified by our cultural experts, and committed violence against our people. That is the history that North Dakota and Morton County must reckon with. After the Greenpeace verdict, that day seems farther off than ever."

    Source:
    bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2025/03
    #StandWithStandingRock #SLAPPsLawsuits #SLAPPs #FossilFuel #BigOilAndGas #Academi #EricPrince #Blackwater #ACAB #PrivateSecurity #BigOil #KelcyWarren #Oiligarchy #CorporateColonialism #WaterProtectors #StevenDonziger #EnvironmentalRacism #ReaderSupportedNews #CorporateFascism #SilencingDissent #StandingRockReservation

  17. Trump allies circulate #MassDeportation plan calling for ‘processing camps’ and a private citizen ‘#army

    The group, led by #Blackwater veteran #ErikPrince, has close #Trump ties.

    By Dasha Burns and Myah Ward
    02/25/2025 05:55 AM EST

    "Prince declined to comment, and the other contractors and former immigration officials listed as key personnel in the document also declined to comment or could not be reached.

    "The founders of the new special entity called #2USV have a long history with the U.S. government. Blackwater was formed by Prince in 1996 to provide training services to law enforcement, military personnel and other government agencies. It gained widespread attention for its work in Iraq and Afghanistan, providing security services for U.S. officials and military personnel, with critics viewing its rise as a result of the U.S. military’s overextension in the Middle East.

    The military contractor came under scrutiny in 2007 following the #NisourSquareMassacre, when #Blackwater contractors opened fire and killed 17 Iraqi civilians and wounded 20 others — raising questions about oversight and accountability of private contractors. Several contractors were charged with manslaughter, and four were convicted in 2014. Trump pardoned them at the end of his first term in December 2020.

    "Trump’s pardon was just one example of the influence of Prince’s family during the first Trump administration. #BetsyDeVos, Prince’s sister, served as the president’s #Education secretary, while Prince used his Trump connections as he chased business ventures in the U.S. and abroad.

    "In 2018, he reportedly helped raise money for an effort to spy on progressives and Democratic organizations opposed to Trump." [As well as #DAPL #WaterProtectors!]
    politico.com/news/2025/02/25/d
    #Blackwater
    #ErikPrinceColonialism
    #SilencingDissent
    #USPol #Project2025 #CriminalizingActivism
    #ClimateActivists #NoDAPL #Crapitalism
    #Fascism #Trump #ChristoFascist
    #CorporateFascism #SilencingDissent #ClimateActivists #Activists #NoDAPL #CriminalizingDissent
    #CrackdownOnProtests #AntiProtestLaws #CorporateFascism #CorporateColonialism
    #CharacteristicsOfFascism #ErikPrinceColonialism #Academi #TripleCanopy #SilencingDissent #ErikPrinceIsAWarCriminal

  18. Trump allies circulate #MassDeportation plan calling for ‘processing camps’ and a private citizen ‘#army

    The group, led by #Blackwater veteran #ErikPrince, has close #Trump ties.

    By Dasha Burns and Myah Ward
    02/25/2025 05:55 AM EST

    "Prince declined to comment, and the other contractors and former immigration officials listed as key personnel in the document also declined to comment or could not be reached.

    "The founders of the new special entity called #2USV have a long history with the U.S. government. Blackwater was formed by Prince in 1996 to provide training services to law enforcement, military personnel and other government agencies. It gained widespread attention for its work in Iraq and Afghanistan, providing security services for U.S. officials and military personnel, with critics viewing its rise as a result of the U.S. military’s overextension in the Middle East.

    The military contractor came under scrutiny in 2007 following the #NisourSquareMassacre, when #Blackwater contractors opened fire and killed 17 Iraqi civilians and wounded 20 others — raising questions about oversight and accountability of private contractors. Several contractors were charged with manslaughter, and four were convicted in 2014. Trump pardoned them at the end of his first term in December 2020.

    "Trump’s pardon was just one example of the influence of Prince’s family during the first Trump administration. #BetsyDeVos, Prince’s sister, served as the president’s #Education secretary, while Prince used his Trump connections as he chased business ventures in the U.S. and abroad.

    "In 2018, he reportedly helped raise money for an effort to spy on progressives and Democratic organizations opposed to Trump." [As well as #DAPL #WaterProtectors!]
    politico.com/news/2025/02/25/d
    #Blackwater
    #ErikPrinceColonialism
    #SilencingDissent
    #USPol #Project2025 #CriminalizingActivism
    #ClimateActivists #NoDAPL #Crapitalism
    #Fascism #Trump #ChristoFascist
    #CorporateFascism #SilencingDissent #ClimateActivists #Activists #NoDAPL #CriminalizingDissent
    #CrackdownOnProtests #AntiProtestLaws #CorporateFascism #CorporateColonialism
    #CharacteristicsOfFascism #ErikPrinceColonialism #Academi #TripleCanopy #SilencingDissent #ErikPrinceIsAWarCriminal

  19. Trump allies circulate #MassDeportation plan calling for ‘processing camps’ and a private citizen ‘#army

    The group, led by #Blackwater veteran #ErikPrince, has close #Trump ties.

    By Dasha Burns and Myah Ward
    02/25/2025 05:55 AM EST

    "Prince declined to comment, and the other contractors and former immigration officials listed as key personnel in the document also declined to comment or could not be reached.

    "The founders of the new special entity called #2USV have a long history with the U.S. government. Blackwater was formed by Prince in 1996 to provide training services to law enforcement, military personnel and other government agencies. It gained widespread attention for its work in Iraq and Afghanistan, providing security services for U.S. officials and military personnel, with critics viewing its rise as a result of the U.S. military’s overextension in the Middle East.

    The military contractor came under scrutiny in 2007 following the #NisourSquareMassacre, when #Blackwater contractors opened fire and killed 17 Iraqi civilians and wounded 20 others — raising questions about oversight and accountability of private contractors. Several contractors were charged with manslaughter, and four were convicted in 2014. Trump pardoned them at the end of his first term in December 2020.

    "Trump’s pardon was just one example of the influence of Prince’s family during the first Trump administration. #BetsyDeVos, Prince’s sister, served as the president’s #Education secretary, while Prince used his Trump connections as he chased business ventures in the U.S. and abroad.

    "In 2018, he reportedly helped raise money for an effort to spy on progressives and Democratic organizations opposed to Trump." [As well as #DAPL #WaterProtectors!]
    politico.com/news/2025/02/25/d
    #Blackwater
    #ErikPrinceColonialism
    #SilencingDissent
    #USPol #Project2025 #CriminalizingActivism
    #ClimateActivists #NoDAPL #Crapitalism
    #Fascism #Trump #ChristoFascist
    #CorporateFascism #SilencingDissent #ClimateActivists #Activists #NoDAPL #CriminalizingDissent
    #CrackdownOnProtests #AntiProtestLaws #CorporateFascism #CorporateColonialism
    #CharacteristicsOfFascism #ErikPrinceColonialism #Academi #TripleCanopy #SilencingDissent #ErikPrinceIsAWarCriminal

  20. Trump allies circulate #MassDeportation plan calling for ‘processing camps’ and a private citizen ‘#army

    The group, led by #Blackwater veteran #ErikPrince, has close #Trump ties.

    By Dasha Burns and Myah Ward
    02/25/2025 05:55 AM EST

    "Prince declined to comment, and the other contractors and former immigration officials listed as key personnel in the document also declined to comment or could not be reached.

    "The founders of the new special entity called #2USV have a long history with the U.S. government. Blackwater was formed by Prince in 1996 to provide training services to law enforcement, military personnel and other government agencies. It gained widespread attention for its work in Iraq and Afghanistan, providing security services for U.S. officials and military personnel, with critics viewing its rise as a result of the U.S. military’s overextension in the Middle East.

    The military contractor came under scrutiny in 2007 following the #NisourSquareMassacre, when #Blackwater contractors opened fire and killed 17 Iraqi civilians and wounded 20 others — raising questions about oversight and accountability of private contractors. Several contractors were charged with manslaughter, and four were convicted in 2014. Trump pardoned them at the end of his first term in December 2020.

    "Trump’s pardon was just one example of the influence of Prince’s family during the first Trump administration. #BetsyDeVos, Prince’s sister, served as the president’s #Education secretary, while Prince used his Trump connections as he chased business ventures in the U.S. and abroad.

    "In 2018, he reportedly helped raise money for an effort to spy on progressives and Democratic organizations opposed to Trump." [As well as #DAPL #WaterProtectors!]
    politico.com/news/2025/02/25/d
    #Blackwater
    #ErikPrinceColonialism
    #SilencingDissent
    #USPol #Project2025 #CriminalizingActivism
    #ClimateActivists #NoDAPL #Crapitalism
    #Fascism #Trump #ChristoFascist
    #CorporateFascism #SilencingDissent #ClimateActivists #Activists #NoDAPL #CriminalizingDissent
    #CrackdownOnProtests #AntiProtestLaws #CorporateFascism #CorporateColonialism
    #CharacteristicsOfFascism #ErikPrinceColonialism #Academi #TripleCanopy #SilencingDissent #ErikPrinceIsAWarCriminal

  21. Trump allies circulate #MassDeportation plan calling for ‘processing camps’ and a private citizen ‘#army

    The group, led by #Blackwater veteran #ErikPrince, has close #Trump ties.

    By Dasha Burns and Myah Ward
    02/25/2025 05:55 AM EST

    "Prince declined to comment, and the other contractors and former immigration officials listed as key personnel in the document also declined to comment or could not be reached.

    "The founders of the new special entity called #2USV have a long history with the U.S. government. Blackwater was formed by Prince in 1996 to provide training services to law enforcement, military personnel and other government agencies. It gained widespread attention for its work in Iraq and Afghanistan, providing security services for U.S. officials and military personnel, with critics viewing its rise as a result of the U.S. military’s overextension in the Middle East.

    The military contractor came under scrutiny in 2007 following the #NisourSquareMassacre, when #Blackwater contractors opened fire and killed 17 Iraqi civilians and wounded 20 others — raising questions about oversight and accountability of private contractors. Several contractors were charged with manslaughter, and four were convicted in 2014. Trump pardoned them at the end of his first term in December 2020.

    "Trump’s pardon was just one example of the influence of Prince’s family during the first Trump administration. #BetsyDeVos, Prince’s sister, served as the president’s #Education secretary, while Prince used his Trump connections as he chased business ventures in the U.S. and abroad.

    "In 2018, he reportedly helped raise money for an effort to spy on progressives and Democratic organizations opposed to Trump." [As well as #DAPL #WaterProtectors!]
    politico.com/news/2025/02/25/d
    #Blackwater
    #ErikPrinceColonialism
    #SilencingDissent
    #USPol #Project2025 #CriminalizingActivism
    #ClimateActivists #NoDAPL #Crapitalism
    #Fascism #Trump #ChristoFascist
    #CorporateFascism #SilencingDissent #ClimateActivists #Activists #NoDAPL #CriminalizingDissent
    #CrackdownOnProtests #AntiProtestLaws #CorporateFascism #CorporateColonialism
    #CharacteristicsOfFascism #ErikPrinceColonialism #Academi #TripleCanopy #SilencingDissent #ErikPrinceIsAWarCriminal

  22. 'Cuz, it would piss off #Putin!

    'No Chance' #Ukraine Gets Back Russia-Annexed Lands — #Blackwater Founder

    Published Nov 24, 2024

    "Amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, #ErikPrince, the founder and former CEO of private military company Blackwater, warned on Sunday that Kyiv should give up on any hopes of reclaiming its annexed territories from Moscow if it wants an end to the conflict."

    newsweek.com/blackwater-founde
    #ErikPrinceColonialism #ErikPrinceIsAWarCriminal #authoritarianism #AuthoritarianRule #RussianAsset

  23. Ummmm... From #wikipedia:

    The #WagnerGroup (Russian: #ГруппаВагнера, romanized: Gruppa Vagnera), officially known as PMC Wagner (ЧВК «Вагнер»), is a #Russian state-funded private military company (#PMC) controlled until 2023 by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a former close ally of Russia's president Vladimir #Putin, and since then by Pavel Prigozhin. The Wagner Group has used infrastructure of the Russian Armed Forces. Evidence suggests that Wagner has been used as a proxy by the Russian government, allowing it to have plausible deniability for military operations abroad, and hiding the true casualties of Russia's foreign interventions.

    "The group emerged during the war in #Donbas, where it helped Russian separatist forces in #Ukraine from 2014 to 2015. Wagner played a significant role in the later full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, for which it recruited Russian prison #inmates for frontline combat. By the end of 2022, its strength in Ukraine had grown from 1,000 to between 20,000 and 50,000. It was reportedly Russia's main assault force in the Battle of Bakhmut. Wagner has also supported regimes friendly with Russia, including in the civil wars in #Syria, #Libya, the #CentralAfricanRepublic, and #Mali. In Africa, it has offered regimes security in exchange for the transfer of diamond and gold mining contracts to Russian companies. Wagner operatives have been accused of #WarCrimes including #murder, #torture, #rape and #robbery of #civilians, as well as #torturing and killing accused #Deserters.

    [...]

    "Early in 2020, #ErikPrince, founder of the #Blackwater private military company, sought to provide military services to the Wagner Group in its operations in Libya and #Mozambique, according to The Intercept. By March 2021, Wagner PMCs were reportedly also deployed in #Zimbabwe, #Angola, #Guinea, #GuineaBissau, and possibly the #DemocraticRepublicOfCongo."

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wagner_G
    #ErikPrinceColonialism #PutinsArmy #CorporateColonialism #Oligarchy

  24. CW: us politics / musk

    was just at an auto glass garage. #TripleCanopy (#Blackwater) security guy walks in and pushes past people waiting in line. he's upset because someone smashed his window "JUST NOW." wants preferred treatment. woman behind the desk wasn't having it

    i'm sure i'm the only one in the room who knows who these people are (fascist mercs). this is the company protecting Musk and preventing congress people from entering govt buildings

    my heart rate spiked and i wanted to scream and smash more of his windows

    why are these fuckers in my town right now? i presume whoever smashed their window knows who they are

    the slow creep is accelerating

  25. And of course there's a #Blackwater connection!!!

    HT @cdarwin

    The armed individual who blocked senators from entering federal property bears the insignia of "Triple Canopy", which merged with Blackwater in 2014.

    This is a mercenary paramilitary guard for Musk and his minions. *Anyone wearing this insignia should be considered extremely dangerous.
    bsky.app/profile/spartacus-nem
    #ErikPrince #ErikPrinceColonialism #Academi #TripleCanopy #SilencingDissent #ErikPrinceIsAWarCriminal

  26. HT @rmblaber1956

    Britain leads the world in cracking down on climate activism, study finds

    Research shows UK police arrest environmental and climate protesters at three times the average global rate

    Damien Gayle
    Wed 11 Dec 2024 01.00 EST

    "British police arrest environmental protesters at nearly three times the global average rate, research has found, revealing the country as a world leader in the legal crackdown on climate activism.

    "Only Australia arrested climate and environmental protesters at a higher rate than UK police. One in five Australian eco-protests led to arrests, compared with about 17% in the UK. The global average rate is 6.7%."

    Original article:
    theguardian.com/environment/20

    Archived version:
    archive.ph/ukkvZ

    #CriminalizingDissent
    #ACAB #Autocracy #Corporatocracy
    #Fascism #CriminalizingDissentIsAutocracy
    #ClimateCrisis #GlobalBurning
    #CorporateFascism #HumanRights #CivilLiberties #ClimateActivists
    #Blackwater #NoDAPL #StandWithStandingRock
    #ClimateAction #PipelineProtests #WaterProtectors #BigOilAndGas #AntiProtestLaws #SLAPPs #ErikPrinceColonialism #Article20 #2023PublicOrderAct
    #Project2025 #HR9495 #GlobalWitness #AntiTerrorLaws

  27. HT @rmblaber1956

    Pioneering research reveals growing dangers and repression of climate activism globally

    Press release issued: 11 December 2024

    "A new report has uncovered the many risks of participating in climate and environmental protests across the world – and how more countries are criminalising and repressing this activity in a bid to keep it in check.

    "The report, led by the University of Bristol, is the first to examine global statistics on this form of protest and identify alarming trends. It reveals that more than 2,000 climate and environmental protesters have been killed over the past 12 years and that a raft of new anti-protest legislation has been enacted.

    "It calls for governments, police forces and the legal system to help protect people’s right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression."

    "Lead author Dr Oscar Berglund, Senior Lecturer in International Public and Social Policy at the University’s School for Policy Studies, said: “This research sheds important light on how the growing pursuit of climate and environmental protest is being handled globally. Our evidence clearly shows a global crackdown in liberal democracies as well as autocracies.

    "'This is worrying because it focuses state policy on punishing dissent against inaction on climate and environmental change instead of taking adequate action on these issues. It also represents authoritarian moves that are inconsistent with the ideals of vibrant civil societies in liberal democracies.'

    "The findings showed murders and disappearances of climate and environmental activists are common in many countries, with international non-governmental organisation (NGO) Global Witness reporting at least 2,106 killings between 2012 and 2023. Brazil had the highest number with 401 fatalities, followed by 298 in the Philippines, 86 in India, and 58 in Peru.

    "A significant proportion of climate and environmental protests involved arrests, according to the research. The highest proportion, one in five, was found in Australia, followed by 17% in the UK – much higher than the international average of 6.3%.

    "Non-violent protesters were also found to be given lengthy prison sentences to act as a deterrent. For example, this year in the UK many climate activists have been sent to prison, with the longest sentence being five years.

    "The report defines environmental protests as being aimed at stopping specific environmentally destructive projects, such as fossil fuel exploration and #extraction, #deforestation, dam building or #mining. #ClimateProtests are described as more urban-based events, which tend to have broader policy demands, such as ending oil exploration, or more overarching political demands, for instance enacting a #GreenNewDeal.

    "The researchers analysed data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED) and Global Witness to gather global data and explore trends as well as new anti-protest legislation introduced in countries in different parts of the world.

    "Four main ways were identified to criminalise and repress climate and environmental protests. Anti-protest laws are being introduced, criminalising groups, introducing new crimes, making punishment more severe for existing crimes, increasing police powers, and giving officers impunity when harming activists. Protest is also being criminalised through prosecution and courts.

    "Dr Berglund explained: 'This involves using existing legislation, including anti-terror or anti-organised crime laws, to curb protest. Climate protest is being de-politicised in the courts, prohibiting mentions of climate change or environmental damage in proceedings, or otherwise changing court processes in order to increase the likelihood of activists being found guilty.'

    "The third category is through policing, which is carried out not only by state actors like police or military, but also private security and military or organised crime groups. This sees a range of attempts to prevent protests through using stop and search, arrests, physical violence, and threats and intimidation of protesters.

    "Dr Berglund said: “Perhaps most shockingly, we found killings and disappearances to be common in some countries. In many ways, these are an extension of policing as they are either carried out or permitted by the same authorities, often following death threats and other forms of intimidation.”

    "The report makes numerous recommendations, including for public authorities to conduct regular evaluations and publish data demonstrating how their actions help safeguard the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression. It also calls for anti-terror and anti-organised crime legislation against climate and environmental activists to stop.

    "Dr Berglund said: 'Human rights frameworks should be at the forefront of policing considerations and operations to ensure that the public can exercise their right to protest without impediment or fear.'

    "'Climate and environmental protests are increasingly prevalent, for good reason as the climate crisis worsens, and responses to this activity are evolving at pace. Further research is needed to better understand the situation so suitable measures can be identified and implemented to protect human rights and keep protesters safe.'"

    bristol.ac.uk/news/2024/decemb

    #CriminalizingDissent #ACAB #Autocracy #Corporatocracy #Fascism #CriminalizingDissentIsAutocracy #ClimateCrisis #GlobalBurning #CorporateFascism #HumanRights #CivilLiberties #ClimateActivists #Blackwater #NoDAPL #StandWithStandingRock #ClimateAction #PipelineProtests #WaterProtectors #BigOilAndGas #AntiProtestLaws #SLAPPs #ErikPrinceColonialism #Article20 #2023PublicOrderAct
    #Project2025 #HR9495 #GlobalWitness #AntiTerrorLaws

  28. From 2017: Revealed: #Blackwater Founder #ErikPrince's Business Ties With #Netanyahu’s Disgraced Chief of Staff

    U.S. businessman at center of storm over allegedly setting up back-channel between #Trump and #Putin has ties to #AriHarow and an Israeli financier

    by Hagai Amit, Dec 6, 2017

    "His involvement in foreign policy raises eyebrows because of his involvement in Blackwater (now known as #Academi), the multinational security firm that operates around the world. Though he sold the company in 2010, Prince has made a fortune from wars – from #Iraq to #Afghanistan. He has also attracted bad press: In September 2007, Blackwater employees escorting a convoy killed 17 Iraqis. They claimed it was an ambush, but Iraq claimed the killings were unprovoked. The Iraqi government refused to renew Blackwater’s license in 2009.

    "Five years ago, well before anybody predicted Trump’s election, Prince visited Israel and was hosted by Harow. At the time, Harow was a businessman with a private investment fund as well as being chief of Netanyahu’s bureau. Harow tried to interest Prince in investing in Indigo Strategic Capital, a venture capital fund that Harow was co-managing with Dorian Barak.

    "How much Prince invested in Indigo remains unknown, but it is known that through Indigo he invested in the Israeli companies #NowForce (security) and #AgentVi (real-time video analytics)."

    Read more:
    haaretz.com/israel-news/2017-1

    #ErikPrinceIsAWarCriminal #IsraeliWarCrimes #BibiIsAWarCriminal #ErikPrinceColonialism

  29. Follow the #BloodMoney -- to #ErikPrince!

    American billionaire Erik Prince seeks #Israeli investments -- Founder of #Blackwater to visit Israel in July.

    By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
    JUNE 16, 2019

    "American billionaire Erik Prince, a former US Navy Seal and founder of controversial military contractor Blackwater, will visit Israel next month to search for new investment opportunities.

    "Prince, who also co-founded Hong Kong-based Frontier Services Group (FSG) in 2014, will meet with start-ups and companies in fields including defense technology, intelligence and foodtech.

    "Drone-maker BlueBird Aero Systems, off-road vehicle developer Tomcar, artificial intelligence defense solutions provider Axon Vision and satellite rescue firm Magnus are among the companies Prince is due to meet during his visit.

    [...]

    "Particularly of interest to Prince are the young alumni of elite #IDF intelligence unit 8200, who have established a reputation for developing innovative hi-tech start-ups after their release from the army."

    jpost.com/Israel-News/American

    #BibiIsAWarCriminal #ErikPrinceIsAWarCriminal #OffLeash #Academi #TigerSwan

  30. Well, well, well... Connecting the dots! Why am I not surprised to find #ErikPrince's bloody fingerprints on #Israeli #genocide!

    #Israel preparing to flood #Hamas tunnels with seawater

    Story by Harriet Marsden, 12/7/2023

    "The Times reported that 'controversial US security contractor' Erik Prince, founder of private military company Blackwater, 'persuaded' Israel 'only days" after the 7 October attacks by Hamas 'to buy his sophisticated mining equipment' to flood the tunnels. A source reportedly told the paper that the involvement of the former US Navy Seal was a 'red flag' to the Joe Biden administration, which 'demanded more study' on the potential impact of flooding on groundwater and sewage facilities."

    theweek.com/defence/israel-flo

    #OffLeash #Blackwater #BibiIsAWarCriminal #ErikPrinceIsAWarCriminal

  31. From 2019: Criminalization of #HumanRights Defenders of #IndigenousPeoples Resisting #ExtractiveIndustries in the United States

    Report to the Inter-American
    Commission on Human Rights

    Prepared by the University of Arizona Rogers College of Law, Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy Program on behalf of the Water Protector Legal Collective

    6/24/2019

    Introduction

    1. Peaceful demonstrations are a catalyst for the advancement of human rights. Yet around the world governments are criminalizing dissent and suppressing public #protest, often as a means to protect #CorporateInterests. In this context, indigenous peoples increasingly find themselves as the subjects of arrests, criminal prosecution and police violence when defending the lands they rely upon for their existence and survival from #ResourceExtraction by industries who are operating without the free prior and informed consent of the affected communities.

    2. This report is submitted to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (#IACHR) in conjunction with a thematic hearing held during the 172nd period of sessions. At the hearing,
    Commissioners heard directly from those involved in the indigenous-led resistance to the #DakotaAccessPipeline (DAPL) at Standing Rock, North Dakota. This report addresses the criminalization and suppression of protest by indigenous human rights defenders and their allies by United States (U.S.) federal, state and local governments, working hand-in-hand with private security forces [#Blackwater], specifically in relation to the construction and operation of #DAPL by #EnergyTransfer
    Partners and Dakota Access, LLC (Dakota Access) and the connected #BayouBridgePipeline (collectively the “#BakkenPipeline”).

    3. Standing Rock is an emblematic case of #IndigenousResistance to extractive industry that drew attention from around the world as water protectors met on the banks of the #MissouriRiver in peaceful assembly in what was the largest gathering of indigenous peoples in the U.S. in 100 years. Standing Rock is merely one example of how the U.S. government works with industry to approve energy projects carried out without the meaningful participation or consent of
    indigenous nations. Indigenous peoples are left with no choice but to peacefully protest and then are criminalized for their efforts to defend their lands and resources.

    4. Since Standing Rock, there has been an alarming trend by the United States government and state legislatures to criminalize opposition to pipelines and other energy projects. These #AntiProtest and so-called “#CriticalInfrastructure laws” progress towards criminalizing dissent and implicitly condone the use of excessive force towards human rights defenders, often including indigenous peoples and their allies who are at the forefront of resistance to extractive industries. As the international community has acknowledged, these laws are incompatible with domestic and international law. The governments’ use of excessive force and mass arrests to threaten, intimidate, and silence “#WaterProtectors” seeking to defend their lands, resources, and #culture, and the collusion with private security forces, violate fundamental human rights to #FreeSpeech and Aassembly enshrined in international human rights law and the #USConstitution.

    5. The information provided here builds on a 2016 request for Precautionary Measures filed by the #StandingRock, #CheyenneRiver and #YanktonSioux tribes, past Commission hearings on similar matters that remain unsettled, and reports on Indigenous Peoples and Extractive Activities, and the Criminalization of #HumanRightsDefenders. In addition, the United Nations has reported on the situation at #StandingRock through the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of of indigenous peoples. Despite condemnation from these international bodies and mechanisms, water protectors continue to suffer impacts from the criminalization of their dissent, while the United States moves forward permitting new #pipeline projects on indigenous territories.

    Read more:
    law.arizona.edu/sites/default/

    #HR9495 #StopHR9495 #CriminalizingDissent #Fascism #Authoritanism #CharacteristicsOfFascism #CorporateFascism #CorporateColonialism #BigOilAndGas #ErikPrince #ErikPrinceColonialism #Blackwater #StandWithStandingRock #NoMiningWithoutConsent #WaterIsLife #NoDAPL #StandingRockSioux #LandDefenders #WaterDefenders #WaterProtectors #DefendTheSacred

  32. Congress Is About to Gift Trump Sweeping Powers to Crush His Political Enemies
    The House is set to vote Tuesday on a bill that would let the administration destroy nonprofits it claims support terrorism.
    Noah Hurowitz
    November 10 2024

    "Donald Trump has made no secret of his desire for revenge.

    "On the campaign trail, he joked about being a #dictator on 'day one' in office, pledged to jail #journalists, and threatened to retaliate against political foes who he felt had wronged him.
    Now, just days after he secured a second term in the White House, Congress is already moving to hand a resurgent #Trump administration a powerful cudgel that it could wield against ideological opponents in #CivilSociety.

    "Up for a fast-track vote next week in the House of representatives, the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act, also known as #HR9495, would grant the secretary of Treasury Department unilateral authority to revoke the tax-exempt status of any nonprofit deemed to be a 'terrorist supporting organization.'"

    theintercept.com/2024/11/10/tr

    #SilencingDissent #ClimateActivists #FreePalestine #Activists
    #NoDAPL #Section25 #Fascism #Greenpeace #Project2025
    #Blackwater #ErikPrince
    #CriminalizingDissent
    #CrackdownOnProtests
    #AntiProtestLaws
    #Genocide #ClimateActivists
    #ErikPrinceColonialism
    #CorporateFascism #CorporateColonialism
    #ClimateProtestors #CharacteristicsOfFascism #HR9495 #StopHR9495

  33. #OffLeash: Inside the Secret, Global, #FarRight Group Chat

    Military contractor #ErikPrince started a private #WhatsApp group for his close associates that includes a menagerie of #RightWing government officials, intelligence operatives, arms traffickers, and journalists. We got their messages.

    Ken Silverstein/
    May 30, 2024

    "In his book In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in #Hitler’s Berlin, Erik Larson cites a cable sent to the State Department in June 1933 by a U.S. diplomat posted in Germany that provided a far more candid assessment of the Nazi leadership than the one that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s administration was then conveying to the public. 'With few exceptions, the men who are running this Government are of a mentality that you and I cannot understand,' read the cable, which was written five months after Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor. 'Some of them are psychopathic cases and would ordinarily be receiving treatment somewhere.'

    "I’ve thought about that passage from the cable many times over the past several weeks as I’ve been reading excerpts from a private WhatsApp group chat established last December by Erik Prince, the founder of the military contractor #Blackwater and younger brother of #BetsyDeVos, the secretary of education during President Donald Trump’s administration, who invited around 650 of his contacts in the United States and around the world to join. Prince, who has a long track record of financing conservative candidates and causes and extensive ties to right-wing regimes around the world, named the group—which currently has around 400 members—'Off Leash,' the same name as the new podcast that he’d launched the month before."

    Read more:
    newrepublic.com/article/182008

    #ErikPrinceColonialism #Fascism #Project2025 #January6 #Trump #ChristoFascist #CorporateFascism

  34. From 2020: #War Contractor #ErikPrince Has Close Ties to [#Trump] White House & Report Reveals His Dirty Tricks for Trump

    "So, there are direct ties and connections between Trump, the Trump White House and #ProjectVeritas and #JamesOKeefe. And here’s Erik Prince, brother of the secretary of education, a shadow adviser to the White House, who now finds his efforts to help Project Veritas are going towards targeting the paper that exposed Erik Prince’s secret meetings in the #Seychelles, for instance, and a potential back channel between the incoming Trump administration and the #Putin government at the time."

    Read more / listen:
    democracynow.org/2020/3/10/war

    #Blackwater #ErikPrinceColonialism #SilencingDissent #USElections #Project2025 #CriminalizingActivism #ClimateActivists #NoDAPL #Crapitalism #Fascism

  35. From 2020: #War Contractor #ErikPrince Has Close Ties to [#Trump] White House & Report Reveals His Dirty Tricks for Trump

    "So, there are direct ties and connections between Trump, the Trump White House and #ProjectVeritas and #JamesOKeefe. And here’s Erik Prince, brother of the secretary of education, a shadow adviser to the White House, who now finds his efforts to help Project Veritas are going towards targeting the paper that exposed Erik Prince’s secret meetings in the #Seychelles, for instance, and a potential back channel between the incoming Trump administration and the #Putin government at the time."

    Read more / listen:
    democracynow.org/2020/3/10/war

    #Blackwater #ErikPrinceColonialism #SilencingDissent #USElections #Project2025 #CriminalizingActivism #ClimateActivists #NoDAPL #Crapitalism #Fascism

  36. From 2020: #War Contractor #ErikPrince Has Close Ties to [#Trump] White House & Report Reveals His Dirty Tricks for Trump

    "So, there are direct ties and connections between Trump, the Trump White House and #ProjectVeritas and #JamesOKeefe. And here’s Erik Prince, brother of the secretary of education, a shadow adviser to the White House, who now finds his efforts to help Project Veritas are going towards targeting the paper that exposed Erik Prince’s secret meetings in the #Seychelles, for instance, and a potential back channel between the incoming Trump administration and the #Putin government at the time."

    Read more / listen:
    democracynow.org/2020/3/10/war

    #Blackwater #ErikPrinceColonialism #SilencingDissent #USElections #Project2025 #CriminalizingActivism #ClimateActivists #NoDAPL #Crapitalism #Fascism

  37. From 2020: #War Contractor #ErikPrince Has Close Ties to [#Trump] White House & Report Reveals His Dirty Tricks for Trump

    "So, there are direct ties and connections between Trump, the Trump White House and #ProjectVeritas and #JamesOKeefe. And here’s Erik Prince, brother of the secretary of education, a shadow adviser to the White House, who now finds his efforts to help Project Veritas are going towards targeting the paper that exposed Erik Prince’s secret meetings in the #Seychelles, for instance, and a potential back channel between the incoming Trump administration and the #Putin government at the time."

    Read more / listen:
    democracynow.org/2020/3/10/war

    #Blackwater #ErikPrinceColonialism #SilencingDissent #USElections #Project2025 #CriminalizingActivism #ClimateActivists #NoDAPL #Crapitalism #Fascism

  38. From 2020: #War Contractor #ErikPrince Has Close Ties to [#Trump] White House & Report Reveals His Dirty Tricks for Trump

    "So, there are direct ties and connections between Trump, the Trump White House and #ProjectVeritas and #JamesOKeefe. And here’s Erik Prince, brother of the secretary of education, a shadow adviser to the White House, who now finds his efforts to help Project Veritas are going towards targeting the paper that exposed Erik Prince’s secret meetings in the #Seychelles, for instance, and a potential back channel between the incoming Trump administration and the #Putin government at the time."

    Read more / listen:
    democracynow.org/2020/3/10/war

    #Blackwater #ErikPrinceColonialism #SilencingDissent #USElections #Project2025 #CriminalizingActivism #ClimateActivists #NoDAPL #Crapitalism #Fascism

  39. #Trump tested the limits on using the military at home. If elected again, he plans to go further

    “We have some very bad people. We have some sick people, radical left lunatics. And I think they’re the big — and it should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military, because they can’t let that happen.”

    By STEPHEN GROVES
    Updated 1:01 PM EDT, October 13, 2024

    WASHINGTON (AP) — "During his first term as president, Donald Trump tested the limits of how he could use the military to achieve policy goals. If given a second term, the Republican and his allies are preparing to go much further, reimagining the military as an all-powerful tool to deploy on U.S. soil.

    "He has pledged to recall thousands of American troops from overseas and station them at the U.S. border with Mexico. He has explored using troops for domestic policy priorities such as deportations and confronting civil unrest. He has talked of weeding out military officers who are ideologically opposed to him.

    "Trump’s vision amounts to a potentially dramatic shift in the role of the military in U.S. society, carrying grave implications for both the country’s place in the world and the restraints that have traditionally been placed on domestic use of the military."

    Read more:
    apnews.com/article/trump-milit
    #Election2024 #USElections #Elections2024 #Project2025 #SilencingDissent #Fascism #CharacteristicsOfFascism #ErikPrince #Blackwater #CriminalizingActivism #ClimateEmergency #ClimateProtestors #Crapitalism

  40. #Trump tested the limits on using the military at home. If elected again, he plans to go further

    “We have some very bad people. We have some sick people, radical left lunatics. And I think they’re the big — and it should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military, because they can’t let that happen.”

    By STEPHEN GROVES
    Updated 1:01 PM EDT, October 13, 2024

    WASHINGTON (AP) — "During his first term as president, Donald Trump tested the limits of how he could use the military to achieve policy goals. If given a second term, the Republican and his allies are preparing to go much further, reimagining the military as an all-powerful tool to deploy on U.S. soil.

    "He has pledged to recall thousands of American troops from overseas and station them at the U.S. border with Mexico. He has explored using troops for domestic policy priorities such as deportations and confronting civil unrest. He has talked of weeding out military officers who are ideologically opposed to him.

    "Trump’s vision amounts to a potentially dramatic shift in the role of the military in U.S. society, carrying grave implications for both the country’s place in the world and the restraints that have traditionally been placed on domestic use of the military."

    Read more:
    apnews.com/article/trump-milit
    #Election2024 #USElections #Elections2024 #Project2025 #SilencingDissent #Fascism #CharacteristicsOfFascism #ErikPrince #Blackwater #CriminalizingActivism #ClimateEmergency #ClimateProtestors #Crapitalism

  41. #Trump tested the limits on using the military at home. If elected again, he plans to go further

    “We have some very bad people. We have some sick people, radical left lunatics. And I think they’re the big — and it should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military, because they can’t let that happen.”

    By STEPHEN GROVES
    Updated 1:01 PM EDT, October 13, 2024

    WASHINGTON (AP) — "During his first term as president, Donald Trump tested the limits of how he could use the military to achieve policy goals. If given a second term, the Republican and his allies are preparing to go much further, reimagining the military as an all-powerful tool to deploy on U.S. soil.

    "He has pledged to recall thousands of American troops from overseas and station them at the U.S. border with Mexico. He has explored using troops for domestic policy priorities such as deportations and confronting civil unrest. He has talked of weeding out military officers who are ideologically opposed to him.

    "Trump’s vision amounts to a potentially dramatic shift in the role of the military in U.S. society, carrying grave implications for both the country’s place in the world and the restraints that have traditionally been placed on domestic use of the military."

    Read more:
    apnews.com/article/trump-milit
    #Election2024 #USElections #Elections2024 #Project2025 #SilencingDissent #Fascism #CharacteristicsOfFascism #ErikPrince #Blackwater #CriminalizingActivism #ClimateEmergency #ClimateProtestors #Crapitalism