Last Wednesday, Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin signed into law legislation that imposes significant new penalties on protestors at critical infrastructures such as oil and gas pipelines.
Critics are alarmed by the higher penalties and the law’s language that could target environmental organizations as “conspirators.” They see the law as a blatant attempt to stifle “free speech” and inhibit groups from legitimate protest activity.
The law comes in the wake of the lengthy protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota that resulted in property damage, a financial burden on local police and governments, and a costly cleanup to dismantle and remove protestor camps and their related debris.
In addition to Oklahoma, Republican lawmakers in 18 states have introduced similar measures. The legislative moves in those states go beyond environmental protests to include the civic disruption seen in protests by Black Lives Matter and anti-Trump activists.
Learn the serious penalties prescribed in the Oklahoma law and how environmental groups are reacting on the next page.
This will get tossed after the first charge. It’s a clear 1st Amendment violation.
When did protest involve throwing a punch so guess what next time you wanna cuff or chain ya self to something but duck tape over your mouth then cuff or chain your self down
Make sure it covering both mouth an noise please. Don’t want to hear you breathing ether
No its not freedom of speech an free to accembale. Is legal but starting a fight or riot were harm to another human is breaking the law need to look it up just because a judge reads it in his own way an pass a judgment don’t mean shot the law is the law an there should be no favoritism
An trump an session an trey gowdy are the bosses now they will stand with what the law is said an won’t bend them for one way or another brad its called draining the swamp of law an courtroom injustice …
Transportation structure. Like road or sidewalks. Marvelous