Unicorn Riot’s ongoing legal battle against Energy Transfer recently reached a new phase. Both Unicorn Riot and Energy Transfer have filed appeals, extending our years-long court case. To acknowledge the jeopardy to press freedoms in our case, numerous press rights advocates, along with legacy media and non-profit media organizations, filed multiple amicus briefs (legal documents filed in a court case by individuals or groups who are not parties to the case but have an interest in the outcome), in support of Unicorn Riot. A broad spectrum of groups and individuals recognize what’s at stake in this case. Excerpts from the briefs:
The Forum for Constitutional Rights said, “Unicorn Riot falls squarely within the [Minnesota Free Flow of Information Act’s] broad protective shield. Unicorn Riot is a non-traditional, decentralized, Internet-based media outlet—but that does not alter Unicorn Riot’s much noted record of news gathering, procuring, compiling, editing and publishing.”
Their brief goes on to say, “Unicorn Riot’s non-traditional—but MFFIA-protected—approach to news-gathering has redefined journalism, as illustrated by the Floyd protests and civil unrest.”
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and several other legacy media organizations, said, “Wide-ranging subpoenas that demand ‘[a]ll videos, audio recordings, images, reports, articles, letters, emails, press releases, statements, internet postings or content,’ like the one at issue in this case, are particularly burdensome for news organizations. Fighting—sometimes lengthy and costly—legal battles to protect their work product, a journalist’s time and resources are taken away from crucial reporting efforts… Ultimately, it is the public that suffers the consequences.”
And a lawyer representing award-winning freelance journalist Tony Webster said, “The news media relies on the protections of the MFFIA and First Amendment when doing their work, and the District Court’s order requiring a privilege log upends those protections, threatening not just the news media and their sources, but the right and interests of the public in staying informed.”
Amicus Briefs Filed on Unicorn Riot’s Behalf
Forum for Constitutional Rights Amicus Brief (November 6, 2023)
Reporters Committee for a Free Press with Minnesota Newspaper Association (MNA), Silha center for the Study of Media Ethics and Law, St. Paul Pioneer Press, Sahan Journal, American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota (ACLU-MN), E.W. Scripps Company Amicus Brief (Nov 3, 2023]
Tony Webster Amicus Brief (Nov 3, 2023
[Read Unicorn Riot’s appeal here (Oct. 27, 2023)]
[Read Energy Transfer’s appeal here (Sept. 27, 2023)]
We are in need of your continued support. Our legal fees have now exceeded $42,000. Help us reach our legal fund fundraiser goal of $50,000. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to our legal fund today of any amount - and kindly also share with anyone in your network who may also want to contribute. Your donation goes not only to help us, but all those who strive for a free and independent press!
On June 29, 2023, UR’s motion challenging the Minnesota District Court’s December 2022 order requiring it to produce a privilege log was denied. Energy Transfer/DAPL appealed the court’s original order that found that UR and its journalists are protected by the Minnesota Free Flow of Information Act. [Read appeal.] Before the end of October, we will be filing our own brief supporting the court’s ruling that the shield law protects us and challenging its requirement that we produce a privilege log in violation of our rights under the MFFIA and the First Amendment.
We want to express our gratitude to our many supporters who have generously donated to our legal fundraiser over the past two years. We could not have come this far without your unwavering support!
As we approach what we hope will be the final stages of this long and challenging legal battle, we are in need of your continued support. While we have raised around $20,000 to date, our legal fees have exceeded just over $30,000 – and we are less than halfway to our legal fund fundraiser goal of $50,000. We humbly request that if you or anyone you know can contribute, regardless of the amount, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to our legal fund today. Your donation goes not only to help us, but all those who strive for a free and independent press!
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 our original posting below for more information and 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.)
First, we’d like to say thank you to our great community for sticking with us through this drawn out legal battle. This struggle has grown into one concerning the fundamental protections needed to ensure a free press, and we couldn’t have mounted the defense we have up to this point without your support. With that, we have some updates concerning this case that we can now share with you.
In Dec. 2022, after nearly three months of waiting, Judge Klein denied Energy Transfer’s motion to compel Unicorn Riot to comply with their third-party subpoenas, but the court ordered UR to produce privilege logs. You can read the ruling in full here.
Seeing the process of producing a privilege log as not only burdensome, but an imposition on our First Amendment rights as an independent media outlet, we chose to fight that ruling and our attorney submitted a motion of relief from the order of producing a privilege log. A court hearing was held on March 31 over that motion and a ruling is expected in the coming months.
As we wait for that ruling, the fight is certain to continue, and further court hearings and filings are likely to occur over the next several months. This whole ordeal has been very expensive for our small nonprofit organization and we don’t know when the situation will be resolved.
We need your continued help and support to push us through this and ensure we can continue to do our work without draining our limited resources. Right now, our ability to keep reporting on the stories you care about is at risk due to interference from an oil corporation’s lawsuit against activists that we are not a party to. The appeal process is estimated to cost us $35,000. This brings our total legal fees fighting this issue to nearly $50,000. If you’re financially privileged or know someone who is, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to our legal fund. Thank you for helping us make this stand for a free and independent press!
Energy Transfer/DAPL is continuing their quest to get the Minnesota District Courts to order Unicorn Riot (UR) to give up newsgathering materials from our coverage of the resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline.
After a year of silence from the corporation, Energy Transfer filed a Motion to Compel UR and Niko Georgiades (UR journalist) to Comply with Subpoenas Duces Tecum on June 24, 2022. Last week on September 7, UR's counsel filed a Memorandum in Opposition to Compel Compliance and asked the court to squash quash the subpoenas against Unicorn Riot (and Georgiades). Energy Transfer filed another brief on September 14 arguing to enforce the subpoena.
An upcoming court hearing is scheduled on September 21, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. central time to allow Energy Transfer/DAPL to "move the Court" for an order to compel UR to give DAPL our documents.
Information to attend via Zoom can be found below. The hearing is also open to public attendance in person.
(Court record with Zoom link and login information.)
Thanks to your support, UR has been able to retain legal counsel to help us protect the integrity of our reporting. If you want to contribute to the ongoing costs of our legal needs, consider supporting us with a one-time donation or as a monthly recurring supporter. Thanks!
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 our original posting below for more information and 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.)
*Donations to the legal fund are placed in our general operating account and allocated to legal expenses.*
UPDATE: We wanted to thank you for your support and give you all a quick update. UR has retained legal representation and has submitted legal motions before the court. It’s too early to tell what the next steps will be, but we have retained a top-notch First Amendment lawyer to vigorously defend us. UR is hoping for a quick resolution to this subpoena. In the interest of transparency, we are establishing a dedicated legal defense fund with any left over funds.
We are fortunate to have the support of numerous press freedom organizations such as the Committee to Protect Journalists. CPJ's Program Director Carlos Martinez de la Serna said in a statement, "[i]t is disgraceful that a multibillion-dollar company is trying to compel a nonprofit news organization and one of its reporters to turn over unpublished source material over four years after it was collected”. We know that Energy Transfer, the company behind the Dakota Pipeline, is going to extreme lengths to go after UR and our reporting but refuse to be silenced.
We are extremely grateful for your support and it has enabled us to continue to report on groundbreaking issues. We ask that you follow us on across social platforms to learn more about our work.
In Gratitude,
Unicorn Riot