(Update August 9, 2024) Unicorn Riot’s Press Freedom Case Headed to MN Supreme Court
The Minnesota Supreme Court granted Energy Transfer’s Petition for Review (PFR) on August 6, 2024, and our years-long case to secure press freedoms continues in the Minnesota courts.
View the order granting Energy Transfer’s PFR here (August 6, 2024).
We need your support now more than ever. We’ve spent over $50,000 battling this corporate energy giant and your monetary support has been so important - thank you! Donations over $100 from the month of August through the end of December 2024 will receive 11 × 17 movie posters of our feature length documentary film Black Snake Killaz: A #NoDAPL Story. We'll continue to provide updates on the case.
Recent writings on the case:
*Read a rundown of the case written in the Silha Center Bulletin (Winter/Spring 2024: Volume 29, No. 2)
*Minnesota Lawyer — Media collective wins pipeline appeal - Court says group needn’t turn over newsgathering materials (May 13, 2024)
*Unicorn Riot — Unicorn Riot Nets Resounding Win for Press Freedom Against Oil Corporation in Minnesota Appeals Court (May 10, 2024)
Background: Unicorn Riot and journalist member Niko Georgiades were served subpoenas in March 2021 as part of Energy Transfer/DAPL's lawsuit (filed in North Dakota state court) against Greenpeace and Indigenous water protectors, claiming they protested the pipeline for financial gain and not due to the potential environmental damage/harm to treaty rights.
(See updates in the update tab and for more information see these two articles: Pipeline Company Issues Broad Subpoena to News Site that Covered Protests Against It and CPJ calls on Energy Transfer to drop subpoenas to Unicorn Riot, journalist Niko Georgiades.)