Update: The trial will be October 8th-11th.
In 2016, five brave individuals, now known as the Valve Turners, turned off all 4 pipelines bringing tar sands oil into the US from Canada for a day. There have already been 3 trials (with Lauren as one of the trial counsel), in Washington, […]
As water protectors continue to stand up to the construction of the Bayou Bridge pipeline, in the Atchafayala Basin, reckless intimidation from Energy Transfer Partners is on the rise! They are asking for protection from Louisiana State Police, and are receiving none. CLDC stands in solidarity with these activists and […]
This week CLDC is providing legal support to some of the most active frontline climate defense camps in the country as part of our nationwide tour to empower and embolden activists with legal knowledge.
The CLDC has been providing legal support to the frontline pipeline heroes in Virginia and Pennsylvania. Recently, the Reilly family’s Virginia farm has been threatened, stolen and logged by the Mountain Valley Pipeline Corporation as it trampled upon their property rights and destroyed their pristine acreage that contains forest and creeks in order to stuff yet another unnecessary pipeline underground.
Eugene, OR — Today is a historic moment for climate activists in the U.S. The Minnesota Court of Appeals upheld a lower trial court’s ruling that will allow four climate activists to provide evidence of the necessity of their actions to a jury of their peers.
SF 2235, An Act Relating to Criminal Acts Committed On or Against Critical Infrastructure and Providing Penalties: A chilling of protestor freedom in Iowa. This bill has passed both houses of the Iowa Legislature and is pending Gubernatorial approval. The original version of the bill passed the Senate and was sent to the House, where it was expanded and reintroduced for Senate approval. The Senate ultimately voted to pass the bill 35-13.
On Monday night I laid awake all night long in an uncomfortable hotel bed waiting for my alarm to go off at 6am. I was obsessively ruminating on the sentencing presentation I would give to the Chouteau County District Court in Fort Benton, MT on Tuesday morning on behalf of Valve Turner Leonard Higgins.
The activists took these actions with the intention of bringing forth a climate necessity defense in the various state courts of Washington, Montana, Minnesota and North Dakota.
March 20, 2018– Statement of Lauren Regan, Civil Liberties Defense Center Attorney for Higgins.
On behalf of our client Leonard Higgins, we want to begin by thanking your honor, court staff, and the district attorney for their time and professionalism with regard to this case. It is not very often that […]
Since 2003, our slogan has been “assert your rights- we’ve got your back.” It seems like a simple statement, however when we dive deeper into what being an activist means, we realize how nuanced this statement is.
To assert one’s rights, […]
