#lawsuits — Public Fediverse posts

House lawmaker sues to reverse Missouri Supreme Court decision to block GOP-friendly congressional map

Rep. Bob Onder (R-Mo.) is leading a lawsuit aimed at reversing the Missouri Supreme Court’s decision last week…
#NewsBeep #News #Topstories #Gerrymandering #Headlines #Lawsuits #MidtermElections(2026) #Missouri #Politics #SupremeCourt #TopStories #USNews #us-house-of-representatives
https://www.newsbeep.com/723190/

IDScan Class Action Lawsuits Filed After Driver’s License Data Breach Claims - https://www.redpacketsecurity.com/multiple-class-action-lawsuits-filed-against-idscan/

#threatintel #IDScan.net #Lawsuits #Data_breach

Engadget: ‘Reasonable’ consumers know they don’t own digital downloads, Sony says. “As PlayStation players prepare for an all-digital future after January 2028, Sony is making no apologies to anyone confused about what that means for game ownership (or lack of it). In fact, the company has told a Californian court that no ‘reasonable’ consumer would be silly enough to think that purchasing a […]

Investing.com: Seattle Times, Newsday sue OpenAI and Microsoft over AI training. “The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleges the companies scraped content from the newspapers’ websites, including articles behind paywalls, and incorporated the material into datasets used to train and operate AI products.”

Lawsuit claims missed red flags before San Diego mosque mass shooting

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Just days before two teenagers carried out a mass shooting at a San Diego…
#NewsBeep #News #Headlines #CalebVazquez #California #Crime #Generalnews #Gunviolence #Lawsuits #Legalproceedings #Mentalhealth #Raceandethnicity #Religion #SanDiego #Schoolshootings #Shootings #Teens #U.S.FederalBureauofInvestigation #U.S.news #UnitedStates #Us #USA #Violence
https://www.newsbeep.com/721024/

Chicago Sky owner calls Freedom lawsuit ‘meritless and frivolous’

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago Sky owner Michael Alter says a lawsuit filed by former NBA center Enes Kanter…
#NewsBeep #News #US #USA #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #WNBA #Chicago #ChicagoSky #EnesKanter #Gender #ILStateWire #Illinois #IndianaFever #Lawsuits #michaelalter #NatashaCloud #RoyceWhite #Sports #WNBAbasketball #WomensNationalBasketballAssociation
https://www.newsbeep.com/us/837421/

Chicago Sky owner calls Freedom lawsuit ‘meritless and frivolous’

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago Sky owner Michael Alter says a lawsuit filed by former NBA center Enes Kanter…
#NewsBeep #News #US #USA #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #WNBA #Chicago #ChicagoSky #EnesKanter #Gender #ILStateWire #Illinois #IndianaFever #Lawsuits #michaelalter #NatashaCloud #RoyceWhite #Sports #WNBAbasketball #WomensNationalBasketballAssociation
https://www.newsbeep.com/us/837421/

Sinema faces lawsuit under North Carolina ‘homewrecker’ law

PHOENIX (AP) — Former U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema can be sued under North Carolina’s homewrecker law over her…
#NewsBeep #News #Headlines #arizona #AZStateWire #DavidA.Bragdon #DomesticNews #Generalnews #HeatherAmmel #KyrstenSinema #Lawsuits #MatthewAmmel #NCStateWire #NorthCarolina #Politics #StevenEpstein #U.S.news #UnitedStates #Us #USA #Washingtonnews
https://www.newsbeep.com/719704/

The Guardian: It’s time for Mark Zuckerberg to resign from Meta. “Ushering in hope for the future of technology requires changing Meta’s leadership now, so that the future is collectively imagined and built upon a new reputation and commitment. Zuckerberg does not deserve another chance simply because he can afford it. We as a society ultimately pay for his mistakes. Now is the time for […]

The Guardian: It’s time for Mark Zuckerberg to resign from Meta. “Ushering in hope for the future of technology requires changing Meta’s leadership now, so that the future is collectively imagined and built upon a new reputation and commitment. Zuckerberg does not deserve another chance simply because he can afford it. We as a society ultimately pay for his mistakes. Now is the time for […]

The Guardian: It’s time for Mark Zuckerberg to resign from Meta. “Ushering in hope for the future of technology requires changing Meta’s leadership now, so that the future is collectively imagined and built upon a new reputation and commitment. Zuckerberg does not deserve another chance simply because he can afford it. We as a society ultimately pay for his mistakes. Now is the time for […]

The Guardian: It’s time for Mark Zuckerberg to resign from Meta. “Ushering in hope for the future of technology requires changing Meta’s leadership now, so that the future is collectively imagined and built upon a new reputation and commitment. Zuckerberg does not deserve another chance simply because he can afford it. We as a society ultimately pay for his mistakes. Now is the time for […]

The Guardian: It’s time for Mark Zuckerberg to resign from Meta. “Ushering in hope for the future of technology requires changing Meta’s leadership now, so that the future is collectively imagined and built upon a new reputation and commitment. Zuckerberg does not deserve another chance simply because he can afford it. We as a society ultimately pay for his mistakes. Now is the time for […]

Stereogum: Jason Isbell, David Lowery, & More Sue Suno For Violating Rights Of Publicity. “Everyone hates Suno, except Mary J. Blige for some reason. Jason Isbell, David Lowery, and more musicians are now suing the AI music platform. The legal complaint was filed on Monday (Aug. 31). The class action lawsuit emphasizes that its claims don’t depend on copyright infringement, but that Sono’s […]

Freedom Fuel stations sold gas a distributor says went unpaid for

A Freedom Fuel Network gas station in Dresher, Pa., on Friday, July 10, 2026. Matt Rourke | AP…
#NewsBeep #News #US #USA #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #Business #BreakingNews:Business #BreakingNews:Politics #businessnews #Courtdecisions #DonaldJ.Trump #donaldtrump #energy #Laws #Lawsuits #politics #Retailindustry
https://www.newsbeep.com/us/831309/

Freedom Fuel stations sold gas a distributor says went unpaid for

A Freedom Fuel Network gas station in Dresher, Pa., on Friday, July 10, 2026. Matt Rourke | AP…
#NewsBeep #News #Topstories #BreakingNews:Business #BreakingNews:Politics #Business #businessnews #Courtdecisions #DonaldTrump #donald-j-trump #Energy #Headlines #Laws #Lawsuits #Politics #Retailindustry #TopStories
https://www.newsbeep.com/712098/

Reuters: Judge dismisses lawsuit by Elon Musk’s X challenging New York hate speech law. “A U.S. judge on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit by Elon Musk’s ​X seeking to void a New York state law requiring social media ‌companies to disclose how they monitor hate speech, extremism, harassment, foreign political interference and disinformation.”

Prince Harry and 6 others must pay initial $13 million over failed invasion of privacy case

LONDON (AP) — Prince Harry and six others, in…
#NewsBeep #News #Headlines #Artsandentertainment #Courts #Crime #DavidFurnish #DoreenLawrence #EltonJohn #Entertainment #Generalnews #hacking #KingCharlesIII #Lawsuits #LizHurley #London #MatthewNicklin #Media #MeghanMarkle #PrinceHarry #Privacy #Royalty #RupertMurdoch #SadieFrost #SimonHughes #UnitedKingdom #World #Worldnews
https://www.newsbeep.com/700100/

PBS: Southern California Edison equipment blamed for 2025 Eaton fire in Los Angeles

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/southern-california-edison-equipment-blamed-for-2025-eaton-fire-in-los-angeles

#EatonFire #wildfires #lawsuits #legal

New York Times: A TV Judge and an R&B Singer Fought Online Trolls. They Didn’t Get Far.. “The attention economy, the Lattimores found, is structured to reward the most eye-catching claims, allowing sensationalist but baseless narratives to spread and perpetually resurrect with little resistance from social media platforms. Their grueling, 16-month lesson in modern disinformation underscored […]

Reuters: US court revives lawsuit claiming AI software fueled price-gouging by New Jersey casinos . “A federal appeals court on Wednesday revived a proposed antitrust class action that alleges ​major casino operators in Atlantic City, New Jersey, ‌used an AI-powered revenue management platform to coordinate on room prices and overcharge guests.”

Judge approves a $1.5B Anthropic settlement over books used to train Claude | AP News
https://apnews.com/article/ai-anthropic-copyright-settlement-claude-books-bartz-74b140444023898aeba8579b6e9f0d63

#Araceli Martnez-Olgun #Andrea Bartz #Justin Nelson #Intellectual property #General news #Technology #Business #Entertainment #William Alsup #Courts #Aparna Sridhar #U.S. news #Lawsuits #San Francisco #U.S. News

A judge hits pause on Paramount-Warner merger, giving states 2 weeks to fight $81B deal

NEW YORK (AP) — A federa…
#NewsBeep #News #US #USA #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #Entertainment #Amazon.com #AraceliMartnez-Olgun #arizona #Business #California #courts #DavidEllison #donaldtrump #Generalnews #Inc. #LarryEllison #Lawsuits #LetitiaJames #Mediaandentertainmentindustry #Mergersandacquisitions #Movies #Netflix #NewYork #RobBonta #SonyGroupCorp #U.S.news
https://www.newsbeep.com/us/774600/

https://winbuzzer.com/2026/07/20/apple-reportedly-widens-openai-case-to-40-former-staff-xcxwbn/

Apple has sent preservation letters to around 40 former employees at OpenAI, expanding a contested trade-secret case and its potential evidence pool.

#AI #Apple #OpenAI #Lawsuits #Legal #IntellectualProperty #Employees #TalentPoaching #AITalentWar #AIHardware

The Register: Startup sues Palo Alto Networks’ Koi Security, saying an AI-hallucinated report falsely linked it to Chinese espionage. “The legal complaint filed against Koi Security, its researchers, and Palo Alto Networks alleges that Koi used an LLM to generate the threat report, the AI system hallucinated findings about MeetingTV, and the security shop then published those as facts in a […]

East Wing debris dumped at DC golf course has toxic metals: report

WASHINGTON (AP) — Debris from the demoliti…
#NewsBeep #News #US #USA #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #Golf #AnaReyes #Climate #Climateandenvironment #DCWire #DistrictofColumbia #donaldtrump #Engineering #Generalnews #KatieMartin #Lawsuits #nationalparkservice #politics #RebeccaMiller #Sports #Trumphub #U.S.DepartmentoftheInterior #U.S.news #UnitedStatesgovernment #Virginia #Washingtonnews
https://www.newsbeep.com/us/626047/

East Wing debris dumped at DC golf course has toxic metals: report

WASHINGTON (AP) — Debris from the demolition of the White House East Wing th…
#NewsBeep #News #Golf #AnaReyes #CA #Canada #Climate #Climateandenvironment #DCWire #DistrictofColumbia #DonaldTrump #Engineering #Generalnews #KatieMartin #Lawsuits #NationalParkService #Politics #RebeccaMiller #Sports #Trumphub #U.S.DepartmentoftheInterior #U.S.news #UnitedStatesgovernment #Virginia #Washingtonnews
https://www.newsbeep.com/ca/650739/

https://www.fogolf.com/1245248/east-wing-debris-dumped-at-dc-golf-course-has-toxic-metals-report/ East Wing debris dumped at DC golf course has toxic metals: report #AnaReyes #climate #ClimateAndEnvironment #DCWire #DistrictOfColumbia #Donald #DonaldTrump #DonaldTrumpGolf #DonaldTrumpGolfing #engineering #GeneralNews #Golf #KatieMartin #Lawsuits #NationalParkService #Politics #RebeccaMiller #sports #trump #TrumpGolf #TrumpGolfing #TrumpHub #USDepartmentOfTheInterior #USNews #UnitedStatesGovernment #Virginia #WashingtonNews

East Wing debris dumped at DC golf course has toxic metals: report

WASHINGTON (AP) — Debris from the demolition of the White…
#NewsBeep #News #Headlines #AnaReyes #Climate #Climateandenvironment #DCWire #DistrictofColumbia #DonaldTrump #Engineering #Generalnews #Golf #KatieMartin #Lawsuits #NationalParkService #Politics #RebeccaMiller #Sports #Trumphub #U.S.DepartmentoftheInterior #U.S.news #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesgovernment #Us #USA #Virginia #Washingtonnews
https://www.newsbeep.com/522296/

Arkansas Times: Saline County sheriff hopeful sues over lurid Facebook accusations. “Richard Friend, who is the chief of police in England, is in a runoff for the Saline County sheriff’s position. He filed suit on March 10 in Saline County Circuit Court against Kevin Cooper, Rick Cross and ‘John Does 1-5,’ saying they falsely accused him of corruption, theft and abuse of authority, among […]

Courthouse News Service: Media watchdog withdraws its suit against X. “A nonprofit media watchdog and the social media giant X filed to dismiss the current cases between the two entities Thursday, after a year of litigation that at one point made it to the Ninth Circuit in December.”

TorrentFreak: Major Publishers Sue Anna’s Archive Over ‘Staggering’ Copyright Infringement, Seek Injunction. “A coalition of thirteen major publishers, including Penguin Random House, Elsevier, and HarperCollins, filed a new lawsuit against Anna’s Archive. The publishers allege the shadow library is facilitating “staggering” levels of piracy. While the site’s owners are not likely to […]

Courthouse News: Stand-up comedians settle copyright infringement lawsuit against Pandora. “A group of stand-up comedians, including Bill Engvall, Lewis Black, and the estates of the late George Carlin and Robin Williams, agreed to settle a consolidated copyright infringement lawsuit against Pandora Media for streaming their routines without a proper license for the underlying literary works.”

Tubefilter: Woman who went viral for texting and driving is suing YouTube and Meta. “The suit asks a judge to issue a court order that will force YouTube, Meta, Reddit, and news outlets to remove video of G.P. from their websites. It also seeks monetary damages from [the car’s owner], and cites violations of the Washington Privacy Act, the federal wiretapping law, misappropriation of her name […]

Supreme Court allows Trump to resume Education Department layoffs

WASHINGTON (AP) — The…
#NewsBeep #News #Topstories #APTopNews #Boston #Courts #DistrictofColumbia #DonaldTrump #Education #Educationfunding #ElenaKagan #Generalnews #Governmentandpolitics #Headlines #Jobsandcareers #Lawsuits #Legalproceedings #LindaMcMahon #MAStateWire #Massachusetts #Politics #SoniaSotomayor #SupremeCourtoftheUnitedStates #U.S.DepartmentofEducation #U.S.SupremeCourt #Washingtonnews
https://www.newsbeep.com/3128/

Gizmodo: RealPage Sues Berkeley Over Ban on Algorithmic Rental Pricing . “The city of Berkeley, California is being sued by RealPage over its ban on algorithms used to determine apartment rental prices. The lawsuit states that Berkeley’s ordinance passed in March represents a ‘sweeping and unconstitutional ban on lawful speech,’ and a violation of the First Amendment’s prohibition on […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/04/09/gizmodo-realpage-sues-berkeley-over-ban-on-algorithmic-rental-pricing/

Ars Technica: US sues six of the biggest landlords over “algorithmic pricing schemes”. “The US Justice Department today announced it filed an antitrust lawsuit against ‘six of the nation’s largest landlords for participating in algorithmic pricing schemes that harmed renters.’… The US previously sued RealPage, a software maker accused of helping landlords collectively set prices by […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/01/08/ars-technica-us-sues-six-of-the-biggest-landlords-over-algorithmic-pricing-schemes/

Queer Satanic is dead; long live Queer Satanic

It’s official and it’s final: We won.
If The Satanic Temple were going to appeal its loss against the defendants it called “Queer Satanic”, the notice of appeal was due in King County Superior Court by 4:30 p.m. today. We have received no electronic notice of a filing, so we are very pleased to say that the case is finally concluded.

https://queersatanic.com/queer-satanic-is-dead-long-live-queer-satanic/

The nontheistic religious organization used its for-profit corporation “United Federation of Churches LLC d/b/a ‘The Satanic Temple’ ” to sue four former members of its Washington State chapter from April 2020 till September 2024. They sued us in federal court, the Ninth Circuit Court, dragged us into giving depositions for the Southern District of New York, and sued us in King County Superior Court, but TST has lost everywhere it went. The claims that we always maintained were frivolous and without merit have been found so in every court TST made those claims by every judge who has looked at them. Now, a month after TST’s most recent loss, the deadline for the Temple’s appeal has come and gone, and so we’re done.

Years ago in dark times where it seemed like there would be no end to this and The Satanic Temple and its owners would never stop being vexatious litigants against us, we wrote the bottom section (in the link). The website’s administrator was supposed to add some sort of explainer and then publish it, keeping the site up and running for as long as that was feasible for them since we would be in no position to be involved anymore.

What it talks about has not come to pass — but in other ways, it certainly has. This was not sustainable indefinitely. The machine was breaking down for a long time, grinding metal on metal without pause, but it can be turned off now. “Non serviam” — until further notice, this machine is out of service.

Certainly, there is still research to be done and still other articles to be written about The Satanic Temple, its owners, and how they actually operate in contrast to how they present themselves. But to be done by us? That’s less clear.

We don’t plan to completely disappear, and there is still some tidying up to do, but mostly, there’s some much needed rest. Just as likely, there will be other fights that now we can focus on, given the way the world is going. In either case, this sabbatical may be indefinite.

“Queer Satanic” was never an organization, never a hierarchy, only a vibe. We were Heretical Satanists, heretics of heretics, so in the midst of defending ourselves from a lawsuit, we tried to put forward positive ideas and examples about what a more useful Satanism might look like; we tried to show a radical and rebellious way of approaching and acting in the world beyond just aesthetics of painting it black or upside-down Christianity slapped on bog-standard reactionary and liberal politics.

We didn’t do enough of it, and there is still so much more to be done.

For now at least, we leave you to it.

#QueerSatanic #TheSatanicTemple #SatanicTemple #Satanism #Lawsuits #SLAPP #CourtVictory

Hell yes: Washington state court dismisses latest lawsuit by Satanic Temple targeting former members

http://queersatanic.com/moreover-we-are-no-longer-being-sued-by-the-satanic-temple-in-federal-district-court-or-king-county-superior-court/

Judge determines TST “has no rights to or interest” to Facebook memes page the national for-profit Satanic corporation has been suing to get since 2020

#TheSatanicTemple #SatanicTemple #Satanism #WashingtonState #Seattle #KingCounty #QueerSatanic #Lawsuits #SLAPP #Lawfare

We fuckin' won, y'all

It hasn't fully sunk in yet, but we did just get some truly joyful news.

https://queersatanic.com/moreover-we-are-no-longer-being-sued-by-the-satanic-temple-in-federal-district-court-or-king-county-superior-court/

The Satanic Temple lost AGAIN, and ours is a full victory here

The King County Superior Court just granted our motion for summary judgment in full, dismissing all claims with prejudice and ruling on our declaratory judgment counterclaim we have the right to use "the Memes Page".

https://www.facebook.com/queersatanic

#TheSatanicTemple #SatanicTemple #QueerSatanic #Lawsuits #Satanism #Facebook #MemePage #LegalAnnouncement

#TheSatanicTemple's lawsuit against #Chicago implodes after minister splits org

Continuing fallout from recent tantrum by #TST owner Doug “#LucienGreaves” Misicko wrecks another legal case, this time over #invocations at Chicago City Council

A day before a status hearing was set to go before a federal judge for a religious discrimination lawsuit by #TheSatanicTemple, the attorney representing the infernal religious organization notified the judge that that would no longer be necessary, voluntarily ending the case for good.

> Plaintiffs The Satanic Temple and Adam Vavrick and Defendant City of #Chicago, through their respective counsel, hereby stipulate that pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 41 this case should be dismissed without costs or fees to either party.
-Stipulation to Dismiss – Document No. 35

The following day, July 24, Judge Joan Lefkow dismissed the cases with prejudice “with each party to bear its own costs and fees.”

#TheSatanicTempleInc. and #AdamVavrick, an ordained minister of the #SatanicTemple and a leader of the #TSTIllinois congregation, sought to deliver an invocation before a #ChicagoCityCouncil meeting. However, they were not invited after, TST claims, more than three years of asking to deliver an invocation and not being given an explanation for why they were not invited.

TST sued the city in federal court on May 3, 2023, alleging violations of the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause.

We wrote about the background of this whole thing in December 2023 and again in May 2024; in the latter, we also made a bit of a prediction there at the very end in reference to the scheduled trial date:

“Given TST’s usual burn-through rate and the ongoing major schism centered on TST Ministry, it will also be interesting to see if ‘Minister of Satan Adam Vavrick’ is even still associated with TST and ordained by the time 2025 rolls around.”

And wouldn’t you know it, a little more than a month after we said that, the plaintiff Vavrick announced he’d left TST's #SatanicMinistry.

Read more:
https://queersatanic.com/satanic-temples-lawsuit-against-chicago-implodes-after-minister-splits-org/

#Satanic #Satanism #lawsuits #failure

Tribes Sue Six Oil Giants for #ClimateDeception

"These oil companies knew their products were dangerous, yet they did nothing to mitigate those dangers or warn any of us about them, for decades," said the chairwoman of the #ShoalwaterBay Indian Tribe.

Julia Conley
Dec 20, 2023

"Two Indigenous tribes in #WashingtonState said Wednesday that they intend to force several oil giants 'to help pay for the high costs of surviving the catastrophe caused by the #ClimateCrisis,' as they filed lawsuits in the state's largest trial court.

"The #Makah Indian Tribe and Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe filed two separate complaints in King County Superior Court against #ExxonMobil, #Shell, #Chevron, #BP, #ConocoPhillips, and #Phillips66, saying the defendants must be held 'accountable for their deceptive and unfair conduct, and pay for the damage their deceptive conduct has caused and will cause for decades to come.'

"The lawsuits—among dozens filed against #BigOil since 2017—detail the extent to which the companies have long known that their fossil fuel extraction would drive planetary heating and the resulting #SeaLevelRise, #ExtremeWeather, #PublicHealth crises, and other impacts of the climate crisis, which now costs the U.S. roughly $150 billion per year just in damages from #hurricanes and other weather disasters.

"'We are seeing the effects of the climate crisis on our people, our land, and our resources. The costs and consequences to us are overwhelming,' said Timothy Greene Sr., chairman of the Makah Tribal Council. 'We intend to hold these companies accountable for hiding the truth about climate change and the effects of burning fossil fuels.'"

https://www.commondreams.org/news/tribes-sue-oil-companies

#ExxonLied #BigOilLied #Lawsuits #IndigenousPeoples #ClimateCrisis #LandStewards #Stewardship #IndigenousNews
#NativeAmericanNews

#Lawsuits Have Become the Weapon of Choice Against #Activists

Legal intimidation suits known as “#SLAPPs” are becoming the norm for private #corporations and #governments trying to silence those who speak out on matters of public interest.

by Katie Redford
July 17, 2023

“On May 31, #Atlanta #SWAT teams with riot gear and battering rams broke down #MarlonKautz’s door. Police dragged Kautz and two colleagues to jail in their pajamas, charging them with #MoneyLaundering and charity fraud.

“Kautz, Adele MacLean, and Savannah Patterson, are volunteer board members of the #NetworkForStrongCommunities Inc., which was incorporated in 2020. Through it, they are able to raise funds for the #AtlantaSolidarityFund (#ASF). Since 2016, the fund has bailed out people arrested in #Georgia while exercising their First Amendment right to protest and helped them find legal help.

“Recently, the ASF has supported Atlanta activists who have been protesting a new $90 million police training center known as '#CopCity,' arguing that it will rob Atlanta of a #VitalGreenLung and increase inequality in surrounding neighborhoods. The state of Georgia, on the other hand, has charged dozens with 'domestic terrorism' for participating in largely peaceful protests.

“Georgia authorities claim that the money laundering charge is based on evidence of a fund transfer to another organization, but they haven’t shared any other details about their allegations. Magistrate Judge Altman, who presided over the bail hearing, described the state’s evidence as 'unimpressive,' reinforcing the defendants’ claims that the arrests are politically, not legally, motivated.

“Shortly after the arrest, Governor Brian Kemp announced that the state would go after everyone involved, and Attorney General Chris Carr tweeted that the funders of the bail and legal defense fund were next. As an executive director at a climate philanthropy who made charitable donations to the ASF for legal defense, I had to wonder: Was my door going to be battered down next?

“Some of the accused may have trespassed or destroyed property, but to charge protesters with 'domestic terrorism' and a legal defense fund with money laundering is a cynical political act that bears no relation to the misdemeanors alleged. Any American committed to democracy should be interested in making sure these charges lose in both the court of law and the court of public opinion.

“These charges seek to silence and stop opposition to an unpopular development project. They also telegraph a message to others in the state and nationwide: We will not tolerate lawful protest in Georgia. This strategy is known as strategic litigation against public participation (SLAPP), which is an intimidation lawsuit, typically used by private corporations against those who speak out on matters of public interest. Various state governments are increasingly deploying this tactic, too.

“SLAPPs don’t usually win in court, but that’s not what they’re intended to do. Instead, they set out to threaten activists and drain the financial resources of social movements. They often unfold as years-long wars of attrition, where corporations and governments with disproportionately large resources grind down the financial, emotional, and legal capacities of activists. The threat of such a suit—typically brought against individuals or groups that confront powerful people or institutions—discourages free speech and association, chilling democracy itself.

“As a lawyer on the front lines of climate justice activism, I witnessed firsthand how a SLAPP was used to weaponize the law against free speech and association. During the mass protests by Indigenous water protectors and environmentalists campaigning against the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, SLAPPs were used widely.

“As #StandingRock became a global cause célèbre, the pipeline’s owners brought a $900 million #racketeering case against individuals and #NGOs like #BankTrack and #Greenpeace, alleging a vast global conspiracy to damage the company’s reputation and bottom line through fraud and #defamation.

“A federal court ultimately dismissed the lawsuit. But despite its eventual failure in court, the SLAPP tactic served its intended purpose: intimidation. #KrystalTwoBulls, one of the Standing Rock organizers that my organization represented, said that being sued tangled her up, practically and emotionally, in a legal battle that diverted her attention, taking her away from her work on the climate crisis and #Indigenous #LandRights.

“She began to #censor herself; she withdrew from her community and the movement, fearing that conspiracy allegations might extend to anyone she touched. And that, of course, is the point of these suits: to send out the message to either shut up or suffer the consequences.

“The case against #Kautz in #Atlanta similarly seeks to spark fear in activists and donors against supporting #FirstAmendment rights and legal defense. There is reason to believe that prosecutors may also be preparing #RICO charges against anti–Cop City activists, another dangerous use of the legal system to quell #grassroots movements.

“Since Standing Rock, over 20 states have passed '#CriticalInfrastructure' laws, which dramatically increase civil and criminal penalties related to protests at or near #FossilFuel projects. #DomesticTerrorism laws like that in Georgia have a similar intention: to weaponize the legal system against critics and stifle #DissentingVoices.

“I have no doubt that the majority of the domestic terrorism charges around Cop City will fail. But in the process, a political point will have been made, at the expense of the constitutional right to free speech. People protesting to protect the #environment and #climate will have been publicly accused of being harmful to America’s security, and they will have been forced to defend themselves—likely at exorbitant cost—against a 30-year jail sentence. Other potential activists will surely remember these charges when they consider whether it’s worth it to attend a concert, sit-in, or protest.

"The best strategy for stopping SLAPP suits in their tracks, whether they emanate from the private sector or are used by the state, is to keep speaking out, to support defamed activists, and to make the litigants pay a price. About 30 states have introduced legislation that protects against SLAPPs. And last year, #Jami Raskin introduced the #SLAPPProtectionAct of 2022 to #Congress. It must be reintroduced.

“My organization, #EquationCampaign, created a fund to provide lawyers and legal support for people who face this kind of legal retaliation for their environmental and climate work. I’m astonished at the wide range of people who need our help: from #farmers and ranchers to #journalists and #IndigenousActivists. All of them are on the receiving end of David vs. Goliath legal tactics that have long served powerful interests with near-endless resources.

“Absent federal protections, we all must be vigilant in the face of the egregious proliferation of #antiprotest laws and lawsuits.

“#Democracy and the future of this #planet require people to speak up. The law should serve—not silence—those of us who do."

https://www.thenation.com/article/activism/slapp-legal-intimidation-activists/

#ForestDefenders #DefendTheForest #StopCopCity #DirectAction #Fascism #RICO #CriminalizingDissent #WaterProtectors #EnvironmentalActivists #ClimateActivists #ClimateJustice #SilencingDissent #CorporateColonialism #EcoActivists #Censorship #HumanRightsViolations #Article20 #RightToProtest #SlowMarch #BigOilAndGas #EnvironmentalRacism #NoDAPL #DakotaAccess #StandingWithStandingRock

#Lawsuits Have Become the Weapon of Choice Against #Activists

Legal intimidation suits known as “#SLAPPs” are becoming the norm for private #corporations and #governments trying to silence those who speak out on matters of public interest.

by Katie Redford
July 17, 2023

“On May 31, #Atlanta #SWAT teams with riot gear and battering rams broke down #MarlonKautz’s door. Police dragged Kautz and two colleagues to jail in their pajamas, charging them with #MoneyLaundering and charity fraud.

“Kautz, Adele MacLean, and Savannah Patterson, are volunteer board members of the #NetworkForStrongCommunities Inc., which was incorporated in 2020. Through it, they are able to raise funds for the #AtlantaSolidarityFund (#ASF). Since 2016, the fund has bailed out people arrested in #Georgia while exercising their First Amendment right to protest and helped them find legal help.

“Recently, the ASF has supported Atlanta activists who have been protesting a new $90 million police training center known as '#CopCity,' arguing that it will rob Atlanta of a #VitalGreenLung and increase inequality in surrounding neighborhoods. The state of Georgia, on the other hand, has charged dozens with 'domestic terrorism' for participating in largely peaceful protests.

“Georgia authorities claim that the money laundering charge is based on evidence of a fund transfer to another organization, but they haven’t shared any other details about their allegations. Magistrate Judge Altman, who presided over the bail hearing, described the state’s evidence as 'unimpressive,' reinforcing the defendants’ claims that the arrests are politically, not legally, motivated.

“Shortly after the arrest, Governor Brian Kemp announced that the state would go after everyone involved, and Attorney General Chris Carr tweeted that the funders of the bail and legal defense fund were next. As an executive director at a climate philanthropy who made charitable donations to the ASF for legal defense, I had to wonder: Was my door going to be battered down next?

“Some of the accused may have trespassed or destroyed property, but to charge protesters with 'domestic terrorism' and a legal defense fund with money laundering is a cynical political act that bears no relation to the misdemeanors alleged. Any American committed to democracy should be interested in making sure these charges lose in both the court of law and the court of public opinion.

“These charges seek to silence and stop opposition to an unpopular development project. They also telegraph a message to others in the state and nationwide: We will not tolerate lawful protest in Georgia. This strategy is known as strategic litigation against public participation (SLAPP), which is an intimidation lawsuit, typically used by private corporations against those who speak out on matters of public interest. Various state governments are increasingly deploying this tactic, too.

“SLAPPs don’t usually win in court, but that’s not what they’re intended to do. Instead, they set out to threaten activists and drain the financial resources of social movements. They often unfold as years-long wars of attrition, where corporations and governments with disproportionately large resources grind down the financial, emotional, and legal capacities of activists. The threat of such a suit—typically brought against individuals or groups that confront powerful people or institutions—discourages free speech and association, chilling democracy itself.

“As a lawyer on the front lines of climate justice activism, I witnessed firsthand how a SLAPP was used to weaponize the law against free speech and association. During the mass protests by Indigenous water protectors and environmentalists campaigning against the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, SLAPPs were used widely.

“As #StandingRock became a global cause célèbre, the pipeline’s owners brought a $900 million #racketeering case against individuals and #NGOs like #BankTrack and #Greenpeace, alleging a vast global conspiracy to damage the company’s reputation and bottom line through fraud and #defamation.

“A federal court ultimately dismissed the lawsuit. But despite its eventual failure in court, the SLAPP tactic served its intended purpose: intimidation. #KrystalTwoBulls, one of the Standing Rock organizers that my organization represented, said that being sued tangled her up, practically and emotionally, in a legal battle that diverted her attention, taking her away from her work on the climate crisis and #Indigenous #LandRights.

“She began to #censor herself; she withdrew from her community and the movement, fearing that conspiracy allegations might extend to anyone she touched. And that, of course, is the point of these suits: to send out the message to either shut up or suffer the consequences.

“The case against #Kautz in #Atlanta similarly seeks to spark fear in activists and donors against supporting #FirstAmendment rights and legal defense. There is reason to believe that prosecutors may also be preparing #RICO charges against anti–Cop City activists, another dangerous use of the legal system to quell #grassroots movements.

“Since Standing Rock, over 20 states have passed '#CriticalInfrastructure' laws, which dramatically increase civil and criminal penalties related to protests at or near #FossilFuel projects. #DomesticTerrorism laws like that in Georgia have a similar intention: to weaponize the legal system against critics and stifle #DissentingVoices.

“I have no doubt that the majority of the domestic terrorism charges around Cop City will fail. But in the process, a political point will have been made, at the expense of the constitutional right to free speech. People protesting to protect the #environment and #climate will have been publicly accused of being harmful to America’s security, and they will have been forced to defend themselves—likely at exorbitant cost—against a 30-year jail sentence. Other potential activists will surely remember these charges when they consider whether it’s worth it to attend a concert, sit-in, or protest.

"The best strategy for stopping SLAPP suits in their tracks, whether they emanate from the private sector or are used by the state, is to keep speaking out, to support defamed activists, and to make the litigants pay a price. About 30 states have introduced legislation that protects against SLAPPs. And last year, #Jami Raskin introduced the #SLAPPProtectionAct of 2022 to #Congress. It must be reintroduced.

“My organization, #EquationCampaign, created a fund to provide lawyers and legal support for people who face this kind of legal retaliation for their environmental and climate work. I’m astonished at the wide range of people who need our help: from #farmers and ranchers to #journalists and #IndigenousActivists. All of them are on the receiving end of David vs. Goliath legal tactics that have long served powerful interests with near-endless resources.

“Absent federal protections, we all must be vigilant in the face of the egregious proliferation of #antiprotest laws and lawsuits.

“#Democracy and the future of this #planet require people to speak up. The law should serve—not silence—those of us who do."

https://www.thenation.com/article/activism/slapp-legal-intimidation-activists/

#ForestDefenders #DefendTheForest #StopCopCity #DirectAction #Fascism #RICO #CriminalizingDissent #WaterProtectors #EnvironmentalActivists #ClimateActivists #ClimateJustice #SilencingDissent #CorporateColonialism #EcoActivists #Censorship #HumanRightsViolations #Article20 #RightToProtest #SlowMarch #BigOilAndGas #EnvironmentalRacism #NoDAPL #DakotaAccess #StandingWithStandingRock

#Lawsuits Have Become the Weapon of Choice Against #Activists

Legal intimidation suits known as “#SLAPPs” are becoming the norm for private #corporations and #governments trying to silence those who speak out on matters of public interest.

by Katie Redford
July 17, 2023

“On May 31, #Atlanta #SWAT teams with riot gear and battering rams broke down #MarlonKautz’s door. Police dragged Kautz and two colleagues to jail in their pajamas, charging them with #MoneyLaundering and charity fraud.

“Kautz, Adele MacLean, and Savannah Patterson, are volunteer board members of the #NetworkForStrongCommunities Inc., which was incorporated in 2020. Through it, they are able to raise funds for the #AtlantaSolidarityFund (#ASF). Since 2016, the fund has bailed out people arrested in #Georgia while exercising their First Amendment right to protest and helped them find legal help.

“Recently, the ASF has supported Atlanta activists who have been protesting a new $90 million police training center known as '#CopCity,' arguing that it will rob Atlanta of a #VitalGreenLung and increase inequality in surrounding neighborhoods. The state of Georgia, on the other hand, has charged dozens with 'domestic terrorism' for participating in largely peaceful protests.

“Georgia authorities claim that the money laundering charge is based on evidence of a fund transfer to another organization, but they haven’t shared any other details about their allegations. Magistrate Judge Altman, who presided over the bail hearing, described the state’s evidence as 'unimpressive,' reinforcing the defendants’ claims that the arrests are politically, not legally, motivated.

“Shortly after the arrest, Governor Brian Kemp announced that the state would go after everyone involved, and Attorney General Chris Carr tweeted that the funders of the bail and legal defense fund were next. As an executive director at a climate philanthropy who made charitable donations to the ASF for legal defense, I had to wonder: Was my door going to be battered down next?

“Some of the accused may have trespassed or destroyed property, but to charge protesters with 'domestic terrorism' and a legal defense fund with money laundering is a cynical political act that bears no relation to the misdemeanors alleged. Any American committed to democracy should be interested in making sure these charges lose in both the court of law and the court of public opinion.

“These charges seek to silence and stop opposition to an unpopular development project. They also telegraph a message to others in the state and nationwide: We will not tolerate lawful protest in Georgia. This strategy is known as strategic litigation against public participation (SLAPP), which is an intimidation lawsuit, typically used by private corporations against those who speak out on matters of public interest. Various state governments are increasingly deploying this tactic, too.

“SLAPPs don’t usually win in court, but that’s not what they’re intended to do. Instead, they set out to threaten activists and drain the financial resources of social movements. They often unfold as years-long wars of attrition, where corporations and governments with disproportionately large resources grind down the financial, emotional, and legal capacities of activists. The threat of such a suit—typically brought against individuals or groups that confront powerful people or institutions—discourages free speech and association, chilling democracy itself.

“As a lawyer on the front lines of climate justice activism, I witnessed firsthand how a SLAPP was used to weaponize the law against free speech and association. During the mass protests by Indigenous water protectors and environmentalists campaigning against the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, SLAPPs were used widely.

“As #StandingRock became a global cause célèbre, the pipeline’s owners brought a $900 million #racketeering case against individuals and #NGOs like #BankTrack and #Greenpeace, alleging a vast global conspiracy to damage the company’s reputation and bottom line through fraud and #defamation.

“A federal court ultimately dismissed the lawsuit. But despite its eventual failure in court, the SLAPP tactic served its intended purpose: intimidation. #KrystalTwoBulls, one of the Standing Rock organizers that my organization represented, said that being sued tangled her up, practically and emotionally, in a legal battle that diverted her attention, taking her away from her work on the climate crisis and #Indigenous #LandRights.

“She began to #censor herself; she withdrew from her community and the movement, fearing that conspiracy allegations might extend to anyone she touched. And that, of course, is the point of these suits: to send out the message to either shut up or suffer the consequences.

“The case against #Kautz in #Atlanta similarly seeks to spark fear in activists and donors against supporting #FirstAmendment rights and legal defense. There is reason to believe that prosecutors may also be preparing #RICO charges against anti–Cop City activists, another dangerous use of the legal system to quell #grassroots movements.

“Since Standing Rock, over 20 states have passed '#CriticalInfrastructure' laws, which dramatically increase civil and criminal penalties related to protests at or near #FossilFuel projects. #DomesticTerrorism laws like that in Georgia have a similar intention: to weaponize the legal system against critics and stifle #DissentingVoices.

“I have no doubt that the majority of the domestic terrorism charges around Cop City will fail. But in the process, a political point will have been made, at the expense of the constitutional right to free speech. People protesting to protect the #environment and #climate will have been publicly accused of being harmful to America’s security, and they will have been forced to defend themselves—likely at exorbitant cost—against a 30-year jail sentence. Other potential activists will surely remember these charges when they consider whether it’s worth it to attend a concert, sit-in, or protest.

"The best strategy for stopping SLAPP suits in their tracks, whether they emanate from the private sector or are used by the state, is to keep speaking out, to support defamed activists, and to make the litigants pay a price. About 30 states have introduced legislation that protects against SLAPPs. And last year, #Jami Raskin introduced the #SLAPPProtectionAct of 2022 to #Congress. It must be reintroduced.

“My organization, #EquationCampaign, created a fund to provide lawyers and legal support for people who face this kind of legal retaliation for their environmental and climate work. I’m astonished at the wide range of people who need our help: from #farmers and ranchers to #journalists and #IndigenousActivists. All of them are on the receiving end of David vs. Goliath legal tactics that have long served powerful interests with near-endless resources.

“Absent federal protections, we all must be vigilant in the face of the egregious proliferation of #antiprotest laws and lawsuits.

“#Democracy and the future of this #planet require people to speak up. The law should serve—not silence—those of us who do."

https://www.thenation.com/article/activism/slapp-legal-intimidation-activists/

#ForestDefenders #DefendTheForest #StopCopCity #DirectAction #Fascism #RICO #CriminalizingDissent #WaterProtectors #EnvironmentalActivists #ClimateActivists #ClimateJustice #SilencingDissent #CorporateColonialism #EcoActivists #Censorship #HumanRightsViolations #Article20 #RightToProtest #SlowMarch #BigOilAndGas #EnvironmentalRacism #NoDAPL #DakotaAccess #StandingWithStandingRock

#Lawsuits Have Become the Weapon of Choice Against #Activists

Legal intimidation suits known as “#SLAPPs” are becoming the norm for private #corporations and #governments trying to silence those who speak out on matters of public interest.

by Katie Redford
July 17, 2023

“On May 31, #Atlanta #SWAT teams with riot gear and battering rams broke down #MarlonKautz’s door. Police dragged Kautz and two colleagues to jail in their pajamas, charging them with #MoneyLaundering and charity fraud.

“Kautz, Adele MacLean, and Savannah Patterson, are volunteer board members of the #NetworkForStrongCommunities Inc., which was incorporated in 2020. Through it, they are able to raise funds for the #AtlantaSolidarityFund (#ASF). Since 2016, the fund has bailed out people arrested in #Georgia while exercising their First Amendment right to protest and helped them find legal help.

“Recently, the ASF has supported Atlanta activists who have been protesting a new $90 million police training center known as '#CopCity,' arguing that it will rob Atlanta of a #VitalGreenLung and increase inequality in surrounding neighborhoods. The state of Georgia, on the other hand, has charged dozens with 'domestic terrorism' for participating in largely peaceful protests.

“Georgia authorities claim that the money laundering charge is based on evidence of a fund transfer to another organization, but they haven’t shared any other details about their allegations. Magistrate Judge Altman, who presided over the bail hearing, described the state’s evidence as 'unimpressive,' reinforcing the defendants’ claims that the arrests are politically, not legally, motivated.

“Shortly after the arrest, Governor Brian Kemp announced that the state would go after everyone involved, and Attorney General Chris Carr tweeted that the funders of the bail and legal defense fund were next. As an executive director at a climate philanthropy who made charitable donations to the ASF for legal defense, I had to wonder: Was my door going to be battered down next?

“Some of the accused may have trespassed or destroyed property, but to charge protesters with 'domestic terrorism' and a legal defense fund with money laundering is a cynical political act that bears no relation to the misdemeanors alleged. Any American committed to democracy should be interested in making sure these charges lose in both the court of law and the court of public opinion.

“These charges seek to silence and stop opposition to an unpopular development project. They also telegraph a message to others in the state and nationwide: We will not tolerate lawful protest in Georgia. This strategy is known as strategic litigation against public participation (SLAPP), which is an intimidation lawsuit, typically used by private corporations against those who speak out on matters of public interest. Various state governments are increasingly deploying this tactic, too.

“SLAPPs don’t usually win in court, but that’s not what they’re intended to do. Instead, they set out to threaten activists and drain the financial resources of social movements. They often unfold as years-long wars of attrition, where corporations and governments with disproportionately large resources grind down the financial, emotional, and legal capacities of activists. The threat of such a suit—typically brought against individuals or groups that confront powerful people or institutions—discourages free speech and association, chilling democracy itself.

“As a lawyer on the front lines of climate justice activism, I witnessed firsthand how a SLAPP was used to weaponize the law against free speech and association. During the mass protests by Indigenous water protectors and environmentalists campaigning against the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, SLAPPs were used widely.

“As #StandingRock became a global cause célèbre, the pipeline’s owners brought a $900 million #racketeering case against individuals and #NGOs like #BankTrack and #Greenpeace, alleging a vast global conspiracy to damage the company’s reputation and bottom line through fraud and #defamation.

“A federal court ultimately dismissed the lawsuit. But despite its eventual failure in court, the SLAPP tactic served its intended purpose: intimidation. #KrystalTwoBulls, one of the Standing Rock organizers that my organization represented, said that being sued tangled her up, practically and emotionally, in a legal battle that diverted her attention, taking her away from her work on the climate crisis and #Indigenous #LandRights.

“She began to #censor herself; she withdrew from her community and the movement, fearing that conspiracy allegations might extend to anyone she touched. And that, of course, is the point of these suits: to send out the message to either shut up or suffer the consequences.

“The case against #Kautz in #Atlanta similarly seeks to spark fear in activists and donors against supporting #FirstAmendment rights and legal defense. There is reason to believe that prosecutors may also be preparing #RICO charges against anti–Cop City activists, another dangerous use of the legal system to quell #grassroots movements.

“Since Standing Rock, over 20 states have passed '#CriticalInfrastructure' laws, which dramatically increase civil and criminal penalties related to protests at or near #FossilFuel projects. #DomesticTerrorism laws like that in Georgia have a similar intention: to weaponize the legal system against critics and stifle #DissentingVoices.

“I have no doubt that the majority of the domestic terrorism charges around Cop City will fail. But in the process, a political point will have been made, at the expense of the constitutional right to free speech. People protesting to protect the #environment and #climate will have been publicly accused of being harmful to America’s security, and they will have been forced to defend themselves—likely at exorbitant cost—against a 30-year jail sentence. Other potential activists will surely remember these charges when they consider whether it’s worth it to attend a concert, sit-in, or protest.

"The best strategy for stopping SLAPP suits in their tracks, whether they emanate from the private sector or are used by the state, is to keep speaking out, to support defamed activists, and to make the litigants pay a price. About 30 states have introduced legislation that protects against SLAPPs. And last year, #Jami Raskin introduced the #SLAPPProtectionAct of 2022 to #Congress. It must be reintroduced.

“My organization, #EquationCampaign, created a fund to provide lawyers and legal support for people who face this kind of legal retaliation for their environmental and climate work. I’m astonished at the wide range of people who need our help: from #farmers and ranchers to #journalists and #IndigenousActivists. All of them are on the receiving end of David vs. Goliath legal tactics that have long served powerful interests with near-endless resources.

“Absent federal protections, we all must be vigilant in the face of the egregious proliferation of #antiprotest laws and lawsuits.

“#Democracy and the future of this #planet require people to speak up. The law should serve—not silence—those of us who do."

https://www.thenation.com/article/activism/slapp-legal-intimidation-activists/

#ForestDefenders #DefendTheForest #StopCopCity #DirectAction #Fascism #RICO #CriminalizingDissent #WaterProtectors #EnvironmentalActivists #ClimateActivists #ClimateJustice #SilencingDissent #CorporateColonialism #EcoActivists #Censorship #HumanRightsViolations #Article20 #RightToProtest #SlowMarch #BigOilAndGas #EnvironmentalRacism #NoDAPL #DakotaAccess #StandingWithStandingRock

#Lawsuits Have Become the Weapon of Choice Against #Activists

Legal intimidation suits known as “#SLAPPs” are becoming the norm for private #corporations and #governments trying to silence those who speak out on matters of public interest.

by Katie Redford
July 17, 2023

“On May 31, #Atlanta #SWAT teams with riot gear and battering rams broke down #MarlonKautz’s door. Police dragged Kautz and two colleagues to jail in their pajamas, charging them with #MoneyLaundering and charity fraud.

“Kautz, Adele MacLean, and Savannah Patterson, are volunteer board members of the #NetworkForStrongCommunities Inc., which was incorporated in 2020. Through it, they are able to raise funds for the #AtlantaSolidarityFund (#ASF). Since 2016, the fund has bailed out people arrested in #Georgia while exercising their First Amendment right to protest and helped them find legal help.

“Recently, the ASF has supported Atlanta activists who have been protesting a new $90 million police training center known as '#CopCity,' arguing that it will rob Atlanta of a #VitalGreenLung and increase inequality in surrounding neighborhoods. The state of Georgia, on the other hand, has charged dozens with 'domestic terrorism' for participating in largely peaceful protests.

“Georgia authorities claim that the money laundering charge is based on evidence of a fund transfer to another organization, but they haven’t shared any other details about their allegations. Magistrate Judge Altman, who presided over the bail hearing, described the state’s evidence as 'unimpressive,' reinforcing the defendants’ claims that the arrests are politically, not legally, motivated.

“Shortly after the arrest, Governor Brian Kemp announced that the state would go after everyone involved, and Attorney General Chris Carr tweeted that the funders of the bail and legal defense fund were next. As an executive director at a climate philanthropy who made charitable donations to the ASF for legal defense, I had to wonder: Was my door going to be battered down next?

“Some of the accused may have trespassed or destroyed property, but to charge protesters with 'domestic terrorism' and a legal defense fund with money laundering is a cynical political act that bears no relation to the misdemeanors alleged. Any American committed to democracy should be interested in making sure these charges lose in both the court of law and the court of public opinion.

“These charges seek to silence and stop opposition to an unpopular development project. They also telegraph a message to others in the state and nationwide: We will not tolerate lawful protest in Georgia. This strategy is known as strategic litigation against public participation (SLAPP), which is an intimidation lawsuit, typically used by private corporations against those who speak out on matters of public interest. Various state governments are increasingly deploying this tactic, too.

“SLAPPs don’t usually win in court, but that’s not what they’re intended to do. Instead, they set out to threaten activists and drain the financial resources of social movements. They often unfold as years-long wars of attrition, where corporations and governments with disproportionately large resources grind down the financial, emotional, and legal capacities of activists. The threat of such a suit—typically brought against individuals or groups that confront powerful people or institutions—discourages free speech and association, chilling democracy itself.

“As a lawyer on the front lines of climate justice activism, I witnessed firsthand how a SLAPP was used to weaponize the law against free speech and association. During the mass protests by Indigenous water protectors and environmentalists campaigning against the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, SLAPPs were used widely.

“As #StandingRock became a global cause célèbre, the pipeline’s owners brought a $900 million #racketeering case against individuals and #NGOs like #BankTrack and #Greenpeace, alleging a vast global conspiracy to damage the company’s reputation and bottom line through fraud and #defamation.

“A federal court ultimately dismissed the lawsuit. But despite its eventual failure in court, the SLAPP tactic served its intended purpose: intimidation. #KrystalTwoBulls, one of the Standing Rock organizers that my organization represented, said that being sued tangled her up, practically and emotionally, in a legal battle that diverted her attention, taking her away from her work on the climate crisis and #Indigenous #LandRights.

“She began to #censor herself; she withdrew from her community and the movement, fearing that conspiracy allegations might extend to anyone she touched. And that, of course, is the point of these suits: to send out the message to either shut up or suffer the consequences.

“The case against #Kautz in #Atlanta similarly seeks to spark fear in activists and donors against supporting #FirstAmendment rights and legal defense. There is reason to believe that prosecutors may also be preparing #RICO charges against anti–Cop City activists, another dangerous use of the legal system to quell #grassroots movements.

“Since Standing Rock, over 20 states have passed '#CriticalInfrastructure' laws, which dramatically increase civil and criminal penalties related to protests at or near #FossilFuel projects. #DomesticTerrorism laws like that in Georgia have a similar intention: to weaponize the legal system against critics and stifle #DissentingVoices.

“I have no doubt that the majority of the domestic terrorism charges around Cop City will fail. But in the process, a political point will have been made, at the expense of the constitutional right to free speech. People protesting to protect the #environment and #climate will have been publicly accused of being harmful to America’s security, and they will have been forced to defend themselves—likely at exorbitant cost—against a 30-year jail sentence. Other potential activists will surely remember these charges when they consider whether it’s worth it to attend a concert, sit-in, or protest.

"The best strategy for stopping SLAPP suits in their tracks, whether they emanate from the private sector or are used by the state, is to keep speaking out, to support defamed activists, and to make the litigants pay a price. About 30 states have introduced legislation that protects against SLAPPs. And last year, #Jami Raskin introduced the #SLAPPProtectionAct of 2022 to #Congress. It must be reintroduced.

“My organization, #EquationCampaign, created a fund to provide lawyers and legal support for people who face this kind of legal retaliation for their environmental and climate work. I’m astonished at the wide range of people who need our help: from #farmers and ranchers to #journalists and #IndigenousActivists. All of them are on the receiving end of David vs. Goliath legal tactics that have long served powerful interests with near-endless resources.

“Absent federal protections, we all must be vigilant in the face of the egregious proliferation of #antiprotest laws and lawsuits.

“#Democracy and the future of this #planet require people to speak up. The law should serve—not silence—those of us who do."

https://www.thenation.com/article/activism/slapp-legal-intimidation-activists/

#ForestDefenders #DefendTheForest #StopCopCity #DirectAction #Fascism #RICO #CriminalizingDissent #WaterProtectors #EnvironmentalActivists #ClimateActivists #ClimateJustice #SilencingDissent #CorporateColonialism #EcoActivists #Censorship #HumanRightsViolations #Article20 #RightToProtest #SlowMarch #BigOilAndGas #EnvironmentalRacism #NoDAPL #DakotaAccess #StandingWithStandingRock

Publishers’ Lawsuit Accuses Libgen of “Staggering” Copyright Infringement

https://torrentfreak.com/publishers-lawsuit-accuses-libgen-of-staggering-copyright-infringement-230915/

#MacmillanLearning #PearsonEducation #librarygenesis #AppsandSites #McGrawHill #Lawsuits #Cengage #libgen

Robinhood ‘Actively Reviewing’ Listed Coins After SEC Sues Binance and Coinbase - Robinhood is reviewing its crypto offerings after the U.S. Securities and Exchange... - https://news.bitcoin.com/robinhood-actively-reviewing-listed-coins-after-sec-sues-binance-and-coinbase/ #unregisteredsecurities #securitiesregulation #cryptocurrencies #cryptocurrency #securities #exchanges #crackdown #offerings #regulator #robinhood #coinbase #lawsuits #listings #binance #broker #crypto #review #tokens

XRP Legal Experts Debate Consequences of Judge Torres’ Ruling - Judge Torres' ruling on Hinman's emails sparks speculation within the XRP communit... - https://dailycoin.com/xrp-legal-experts-debate-consequences-judge-torres-ruling/ #analisatorres #davidschwartz #ripplevssec #johndeaton #ripplelabs #lawsuits #zz_index #zz_top