Two protesters who held up an anti-Keystone-XL-pipeline banner at the Oklahoma City headquarters of Devon Energy have been charged with perpetrating a “terrorism hoax” because some of the glitter on their banner fell on the floor and was characterized by OKC cops as a “hazardous substance.”
The arrest is an extreme example, but it’s not an isolated one. Indeed, leaked documents show that TransCanada has an army of spies assembling dossiers on protesters, and has been briefing the FBI and local law on techniques for prosecuting anti-pipeline protesters as terrorists.
Their attorney, Doug Parr, has been involved in dozens of protest cases like this one in Oklahoma and Texas. In other arrests, protesters have faced trumped-up charges, but this is a radical escalation. “I’ve been practicing law since the 1970s. Quite frankly, I’ve been expecting this,” Parr said. “Based upon the historical work I’ve been involved in, I know that when popular movements that confront the power structure start gaining traction, the government ups the tactics they employ in order to disrupt and take down those movements.”
TransCanada has been putting pressure on law enforcement to do exactly that. In documents obtained by Bold Nebraska, the company was shown briefing police and the FBI on how to prosecute anti-pipeline protesters as terrorists.
Two Environmentalists Were Charged with ‘Terrorism Hoax’ for Too Much Glitter on Their Banner [Will Potter/Vice]