SLAPP’d: An Indigenous Nation Fights for Its Water

The Kill Step, Part Six: “We believed that to be true.”

The Kill Step, Part One: “They’re Waiting for Someone to Wink”

The Kill Step, Part Two: “What the hell is this bullshit?

The Kill Step, Part Three: “You’re Going to Fight This.”

The Kill Step, Part Seven: “They’re Scumbags.”

The Kill Step, Part Five: “It’s part of the treaty.”

The Kill Step, Part Four: “How many of you feel the same way?”

Seven Years Later, an Environmental Impact Statement for the Dakota Access Pipeline

Greenpeace Fights for Survival Against a Fossil Fuel Giant’s $345-Million “SLAPP” Suit

Inside a Pipeline Giant’s Bid to Block Greenpeace’s Historic Anti-Intimidation Lawsuit

In Backlash to Campus Pro-Palestine Protests, Echoes of Standing Rock and the Global Crackdown on Climate Protest

Alleen Brown

Standing Rock Documents Documents detailing the surveillance of Standing Rock activists, obtained by public information requests from reporter Alleen Brown, and analyzed with additional support from the Center for Media and Democracy.

Documents detailing the surveillance of Standing Rock activists, obtained by public information requests from reporter Alleen Brown, and analyzed with additional support from the Center for Media and Democracy. 

Tiger Swan Sept 13, 2016 Situational Update on Standing Rock for Energy Transfer September 13, 2016 report to Energy Transfer on the security situation at Standing Rock, noting the presence of Salvadoran gang MS13 in the camps, which TigerSwan identifies as “Mexican gangbangers.”

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Tiger Swan Sept 13, 2016 Situational Update on Standing Rock for Energy Transfer

Tiger Swan Sept 24, 2016 Situational Update on Standing Rock for Energy Transfer September 24, 2016 report to Energy Transfer on the security situation at Standing Rock.

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Tiger Swan Sept 24, 2016 Situational Update on Standing Rock for Energy Transfer

Tiger Swan Intel Emails September 2016 Tiger Swan emails alerting Energy Transfer of the presence of Palestinians at Standing Rock.

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Tiger Swan Intel Emails September 2016

Tiger Swan Sept 24 Intelligence Briefing for Energy Transfer Tiger Swan intelligence briefing from Sept 24, 2016, particularly noting the presence of a Palestinian flag at one of the protest camps.

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Tiger Swan Sept 24 Intelligence Briefing for Energy Transfer

Tiger Swan Sept 19, 2016 Situational updated on Standing Rock for Energy Transfer September 19, 2016 report to Energy Transfer on the security situation at Standing Rock, noting the arrival of a single Palestinian activist at the protest.

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Tiger Swan Sept 19, 2016 Situational updated on Standing Rock for Energy Transfer

Resolute Complaint A RICO suit filed against Greenpeace on behalf of a timber company called Resolute Forest Products by Kasowitz Benson and Torres, the firm that would later file a RICO against Greenpeace on behalf of Energy Transfer.

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Resolute Complaint

Energy Transfer RICO Complaint Against Greenpeace RICO complaint filed against Greenpeace by Energy Transfer in 2018. The case was thrown out for lacking merit.

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Energy Transfer RICO Complaint Against Greenpeace

Tiger Swan Building a RICO Case for Energy Transfer TigerSwan was not only providing the intelligence it collected on Standing Rock protestors to law enforcement, but it was also preparing to provide some of the information it gathered on water protectors to the law firm Gibson Dunn, including this set of spreadsheets listing crowdfunding pages, how much each had raised, and who was involved.

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Tiger Swan Building a RICO Case for Energy Transfer

Contract Archaeologist Report An archaeology company contracted by Energy Transfer drew maps of the area previously disturbed by the Northern Border pipeline.

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Contract Archaeologist Report

Cody Hall Arrest Report A police report obtained via a public records request, shows that Energy Transfer contacted the dog company in the middle of the night before they bulldozed the sacred sites area — several hours after they learned of the sites from the court.

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Cody Hall Arrest Report

North Dakota Archaeologist Statement The North Dakota state archaeologist submitted a statement in court saying that no human remains had been discovered along the Dakota Access Pipeline route.

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North Dakota Archaeologist Statement

Paul Picha Deposition Both the state archaeologist and Energy Transfer’s contract archaeologist said in depositions that were never presented in trial that they didn’t actually have expertise in sacred sites. If that’s the case – then how would they or Energy Transfer – or Greenpeace for that matter – know if a site was desecrated? And if they couldn’t know that, how could they prove that anyone claiming sacred sites were desecrated was “defaming” Energy Transfer? Usually in defamation cases, claimants need to prove that what’s been said about them was not true. This is the deposition of state archaeologist Paul Picha.

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Paul Picha Deposition

Jason Kovacs Deposition Both the state archaeologist and Energy Transfer’s contract archaeologist said in depositions that were never presented in trial that they didn’t actually have expertise in sacred sites. If that’s the case – then how would they or Energy Transfer – or Greenpeace for that matter – know if a site was desecrated? And if they couldn’t know that, how could they prove that anyone claiming sacred sites were desecrated was “defaming” Energy Transfer? Usually in defamation cases, claimants need to prove that what’s been said about them was not true. This is the deposition of Energy Transfer’s archaeologist, Jason Kovacs.

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Jason Kovacs Deposition

Operation Point Break Energy Transfer’s private security team created an elaborate security plan to protect archaeologists as they examined the path of the pipeline for sacred sites. They called it Operation Point Break. (Yes also the name of a 90s Keanu Reeves movie where he’s an undercover FBI agent infiltrating a group of surfer / robbers).

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Operation Point Break

Meyer Affidavit An affidavit signed by rancher Dave Meyer saying he did not invite the tribe’s sacred sites consultant Tim Mentz onto his land to examine the area for culturally significant sites. Meyer later told reporter Alleen Brown in an on-the-record interview that he did invite Mentz out to his ranch to check the path of the pipeline.

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Meyer Affidavit

Second Amended Complaint, Energy Transfer v Greenpeace Conspiracy complaint Energy Transfer filed against Greenpeace Inc., Greenpeace Fund, Greenpeace International, Krystal Two Bulls, and Cody Hall in North Dakota.

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Second Amended Complaint, Energy Transfer v Greenpeace

PHMSA Report on Dakota Access Pipeline Spills Since 2017 Report from the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration on the number of spills from Energy Transfer’s Dakota Access Pipeline since it was put into service in 2017.

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PHMSA Report on Dakota Access Pipeline Spills Since 2017

Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s 2024 Legal Complaint Against the U.S. Army Corps The 2024 complaint the Standing Rock Sioux filed against the Army Corps of Engineers for “failing to regulate, permit, and remove theDakota Access Pipeline (“DAPL”) operated by Energy Transfer LP, as required by law.”

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Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s 2024 Legal Complaint Against the U.S.  Army Corps

Bank Track Letter Calling on Banks to Stop Funding DAPL In 2016, the NGO Bank Track asked dozens of environmental and Indigenous rights organizations to sign onto a letter asking the banks that were financing the Dakota Access Pipeline to stop doing so, citing amongst other reasons the fact that the pipeline was “cutting through Native American sacred territories.” During the trial in 2025, the letter was presented as a key piece of evidence that Greenpeace International had “defamed” Energy Transfer…because it was one of dozens of organizations that signed on to the letter.

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Bank Track Letter Calling on Banks to Stop Funding DAPL

Exponent Drilling Mud Report A report documenting drilling mud spills that occurred under Lake Oahe over the course of the Dakota Access Pipeline’s construction.

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Exponent Drilling Mud Report

Tiger Swan Report on Cody Hall and Their Infiltrator A weekly report from Tiger Swan to Energy Transfer about a protest in Morton County indicates that the same day Cody Hall met a strange person who claimed to be with Greenpeace and offered him money, Tiger Swan had “embeds,” or infiltrators, at the protest, one of which was given a ride home in the same car as Cody.

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Tiger Swan Report on Cody Hall and Their Infiltrator

Deposition from Vicki Granado, of Energy Transfer, About Its Work with DCI Group Granado, an employee of Energy Transfer, describes how the firm worked with DCI Group to support DAPL.

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Deposition from Vicki Granado, of Energy Transfer, About Its Work with DCI Group

SLAPP’d Episode 2 | The Trial Begins

SLAPP’d Episode 4 | Back to the Water

SLAPP’d Episode 5 | Sacred Sites

SLAPP’d Episode 6 | The SLAPP Heard ‘Round the World

S10, Ep13: Seven Years Later, an Environmental Impact Statement for the Dakota Access Pipeline

SLAPP’d

The Real Free Speech Threat

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Standing Rock Documents

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