Earlier this year, a generally unnoticed and largely ignored but very troubling set of developments took place. Several state legislatures considered and, in some cases, enacted laws that aim to significantly limit
the right of working and oppressed communities to protest. These reactionary measures came in the wake of the militant Dakota Access Pipeline protests, Black Lives Matter protests and wide ranging anti-Trump rallies.
Nineteen different states in all sections of the country introduced and considered legislation, while four states—North and South Dakota, Oklahoma and Tennessee—actually passed legislation limiting the right to protest and imposing severe penalties for doing so.
In most cases, the proposed legislation came in direct response to the #NoDAPL protest that took place during most of 2016. In the four cases where anti-protest bills passed, petroleum companies lobbied exhaustively to ensure passage and received support from both Democrats and Republicans. The state of Oklahoma led the way, enacting legislation to increase significantly legal penalties against protestors and the organizations that support their activities.
Neoconservative Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin signed two of these bills into law on May 7. The laws target groups “conspiring” with protestors who are accused of trespassing to stop or limit pipeline construction or the flow of petroleum. With the passage of the bills Oklahoma now has the right to implicate any organization deemed to be “supporting” protesters’ activities with fines as high as $1,000,000. What makes these laws even more onerous is that the burden of proof lies with the accused!
In addition, individuals in Oklahoma now face a $10,000 fine if convicted of the intent to do damage. If the state finds that tampering is in fact indicated, the fine increases to $100,000 and 10 years imprisonment.
Like Oklahoma, North Dakota—in reaction to the #NoDAPL protests— sought to pass a series of laws criminalizing protests. Of the five bills introduced, three passed. One criminalizes the wearing of a mask while protesting. The other two impose harsher penalties and fines for those accused of “rioting” or refusing to vacate after being told to do so.
South Dakota enacted a new law that makes it illegal for more than 20 people to gather on public lands!
Several other states ranging from places like Alabama and Arkansas to Washington State and Oregon introduced and considered similar bills but did not enact them. Most of these proposed laws were aimed at limiting highway stoppage protests, a tactic frequently used during protests against police brutality and excusing drivers who drive through protest crowds.
North Dakota is currently using the new law to prosecute Michael Foster—an activist from Washington State—for his participation in a protest that planned to temporarily shut off the North Dakota Keystone pipeline. With these more severe laws in place he now faces the prospect of serving up to 23 years in a North Dakota prison for turning off a valve. In other words, direct action to stop climate change, which science tells us is a global emergency, will be criminalized, while the direct action of oil companies to create climate change will be defended by the state.
While the actual numbers of enacted laws remains rather small at the moment, it is clear that there is a major effort taking place to limit and or even outlaw the right to protest, and support for such bills has been strong from both bourgeois parties.
Mainstream media has paid little attention to this dangerous trend, revealing the corporate media’s real role as nothing but a mouthpiece for capital, making it all the more important for radicals to speak the truth
loud and clear!
