{"id":9294,"date":"2019-09-26T13:48:08","date_gmt":"2019-09-26T18:48:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/resisters-give-shout-out-for-riot-boosting-act\/"},"modified":"2019-09-26T13:48:09","modified_gmt":"2019-09-26T18:48:09","slug":"resisters-give-shout-out-for-riot-boosting-act","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/resisters-give-shout-out-for-riot-boosting-act\/","title":{"rendered":"Resisters give shout-out for Riot Boosting Act"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Participants in the Sovereign Sisters Gathering attended a rally at South Dakota U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence L. Piersol\u2019s June hearing in Rapid City in the case of Dakota Rural Action v. Noem. COURTESY \/ Sacred Activism<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

RAPID CITY \u2013 Native American pipeline construction resisters were among the first of plaintiffs to cheer a Sept. 18 federal court order blocking South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem\u2019s Riot Boosting Act.
\nU.S. Judge Lawrence L. Piersol granted the injunction that plaintiffs sought in order to prevent enforcement of the new law at least until its challenged constitutionality is decided.
\n\u201cThe lawsuit is ongoing, but based on the judge\u2019s comments in the decision, we are hopeful that we will win this case!\u201d said Lakota-Din\u00e9 Dallas Goldtooth, a plaintiff, along with his organization Indigenous Environmental Network, NDN Collective, Dakota Rural Action, Sierra Club and Lakota tribal member Nick Tilsen.
\nNDN Collective called the decision \u201cBig news!\u201d and \u201can important step in the right direction, protecting our right to organize and mobilize in protection of Mother Earth.\u201d
\nPiersol\u2019s 24-page opinion said plaintiffs are likely to win on the merits of the case and noted, \u201cThe riot boosting statute was introduced and passed in the final week of the 2019 legislative session with an emergency clause to make it immediately effective.
\n\u201cThe publicly made claims by the governor and others were that the legislation was to address costs of various persons and entities from anticipated rioting as a result of the building of the Keystone XL Pipeline through South Dakota,\u201d he said.
\nThe act expressly set up a \u201cpipeline activity coordination expenses fund\u201d to hold fines recovered from the newly coined violation of \u201criot boosting\u201d. Noem said the legislation would protect the state from expenses that might accrue from conflict over the project.
\nThe judge established that the \u201cthreat of irreparable harm\u201d to plaintiffs from the Riot Boosting Act \u201cis clear and substantial.\u201d
\nHe recognized plaintiffs\u2019 claim that the new law has \u201ca chilling effect on their free speech and association rights, and they are prevented from soliciting support or contributing or otherwise supporting peaceful protest of the construction of the project as they are afraid of criminal prosecution, as well as substantial and unwarranted damage awards against them.\u201d
\nHe went on to explain, \u201cThe protesters desire to be active in advance of the construction season, as opposed to waiting for construction to happen. If public opinion is to be swayed, it should be done before further construction takes place.
\n\u201cThose in favor of the pipeline should also have opportunity to respond, rather than having all confrontation taking place during actual construction,\u201d he ventured.
\nPlaintiffs thanked the American Civil Liberties Union for litigating on their behalf. Stephen Pevar, senior staff attorney in the ACLU\u2019s Racial Justice Program, responded, \u201cWe\u2019re glad the court recognized that these vague and overbroad laws threaten the First Amendment rights of South Dakotans on every side of the issue.\u201d
\nThe ruling recalls Noem\u2019s comment that the legislation \u201ccreates a legal avenue, if necessary, to go after out-of- state money funding riots that go beyond expressing a viewpoint but instead aim to slow down the pipeline build. It allows us to follow the money for riots and cut it off at the source.\u201d
\nPevar said that \u201cwas clearly intended to suppress constitutionally-protected, peaceful protests of the Keystone XL Pipeline.\u201d
\nJohn Harter, chair of the lead plaintiff Dakota Rural Action, responded, \u201cOur opposition to the pipeline construction may agitate Gov. Noem, but the First Amendment guarantees us the right to make our voices heard.\u201d
\nHarter, who is opposed to the pipeline route crossing his Tripp County ranch, said, \u201cWe\u2019re thrilled that the state is blocked from enforcing the anti-protest laws as the case goes forward.
\n\u201cThe government has dismissed Native Americans, South Dakota farmers and ranchers and others who oppose the Keystone XL Pipeline, but the pipeline, if constructed, would have a substantial impact on all of our lives,\u201d he added.
\nPiersol left only a small portion of the new statutes in place, reasoning, \u201cThe legislature meets next January, and it could pass legislation to meet federal constitutional requirements if it wishes to supplement what remains of the riot boosting statutes.\u201d
\nPipeline promoter TC Energy Corp., formerly TransCanada Corp., says it will not undertake construction on the final stretch of the Canada-to-Texas tar-sands crude-oil infrastructure through the unceded 1868 Ft. Laramie Treaty territory of Nebraska, South Dakota and Montana, before spring of 2020.
\nTribes and organizations have stalled the project with other federal lawsuits, based on alleged violations of environmental, constitutional and treaty protections.
\nSouth Dakota\u2019s KELOLAND news reported Noem\u2019s office declines comment because the case is still in litigation. Noem has maintained the statutes didn\u2019t take aim at First Amendment guarantees.
\nHowever, Piersol countered with references to the civil rights movement of the 1960s. \u201cImagine that if these riot boosting statutes were applied to the protests that took place in Birmingham, Alabama, what might be the result? \u2026 Dr. King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference could be liable for treble damages.\u201d
\nPiersol quoted King\u2019s \u201cLetter from Birmingham Jail\u201d during dissent over segregation: \u201cYou express a great deal of anxiety over our willingness to break laws,\u201d King wrote, referring readers to Aristotle\u2019s declaration that \u201can unjust law is no law at all.\u201d
\nThe judge took issue with Noem\u2019s statement about out-of-state influences. \u201cIs one goal to keep outsiders out?\u201d he responded. \u201cIf so, that is not a laudable goal as we are a nation of 50 states with each citizen in any state having the same rights of free speech and assembly in every state,\u201d he wrote.
\n\u201cThe freedom of speech and association are constitutional rights that are central to all citizens of our country. Those rights will be thwarted if the unconstitutional portions of the riot booting legislation remain in effect,\u201d he concluded.
\nHe ruled that Pennington County Sheriff Kevin Thom may be dismissed as a defendant in the case for lack of standing to be sued. Likewise, the sheriffs in the other eight South Dakota counties on the proposed pipeline route would not be seen as defendants, although they would be responsible for filing charges of riot boosting.
\nSince the Riot Boosting Act passed with an emergency clause, it has been in effect for six months. However, no charges have been filed, Piersol observed.<\/p>\n

(Contact Talli Nauman at talli.nauman@ gmail.com<\/a>)<\/p>\n

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Participants in the Sovereign Sisters Gathering attended a rally at South Dakota U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence L. Piersol\u2019s June hearing in Rapid City in the case of Dakota Rural Action v. Noem. COURTESY \/ Sacred Activism RAPID CITY \u2013 Native American pipeline construction resisters were among the first of <\/p>\n

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Shared by Native Sun News Today<\/a> September 26, 2019<\/p>\n

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