In February 2025, Greenpeace USA is scheduled to go to trial in North Dakota. We are being sued by Energy Transfer – the operator of the Dakota Access Pipeline – for nearly $300 million related to the 2016 protests at Standing Rock. A loss in this trial could threaten to put Greenpeace on the sidelines of the fight for climate justice right at the moment when we need to fight even harder for a green and peaceful future.

The stakes are high, and not just for Greenpeace USA as an organization. This trial is testing out dangerous legal tactics that, if successful, could be widely applied against protesters, and indeed, anyone who speaks out or criticizes a deep-pocketed corporation.

No matter what happens, Greenpeace is not going away. But this legal threat is very real, and we see it as our duty to fight this lawsuit not just for ourselves, but for future activists who might be similarly targeted.

Energy Transfer wants to shut us up, but we’ve never been very good at doing that. Here is the story of this lawsuit and why it matters for all of us.