Civil disobedience is rarely the first path movements take. Weeks before protests began, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe sued over permits for the Dakota Access Pipeline—the pipeline company, Energy Transfer Partners, kept digging while the lawsuit was still pending in court. Government agencies subsequently issued a joint statement calling on Energy Transfer Partners to “voluntarily pause all construction” near the project site, which the company ignored. Before any protesters occupied the Weelaunee Forest to oppose Cop City construction in late 2021, Atlanta residents spent 17 hours expressing opposition to the project during public comments before the City Council that September. The City Council voted to move forward anyway. This summer, organizers collected over 100,000 signatures in favor of letting Atlanta residents vote on the construction of Cop City in November, but Atlanta city officials have repeatedly challenged the referendum drive—in court, in the press, by instituting draconian signature verification requirements, and finally by refusing to verify the signatures when delivered in person.
Against this backdrop, the broad discretion prosecutors have regarding what types of charges to file and whom to target for prosecution presents an increasing risk to our fundamental rights to speak out and organize. Prosecutions can drag on for months, even years. In the meantime, those facing charges also face significant restrictions on their ability to continue organizing, as well as ongoing risks to their employment and housing. Despite the often meandering and obscure bureaucracy of the U.S. criminal legal system, it is critical to keep public attention on these prosecutions. Injustice thrives in empty courtrooms.
But other futures are possible. Just last week a judge dismissed nearly three-year-old charges against Line 3 protesters Winona LaDuke, Tania Aubid, and Dawn Goodwin, ultimately finding that “to criminalize their behavior would be the crime.” In the wake of mass arrests following the murder of George Floyd, prosecutors across the country dropped the vast majority of cases against protesters in their cities and counties, some explicitly citing protesters’ constitutional and civil rights. Movements continue to mobilize community-led jail and court support for those facing prosecution to demand transparency and accountability at every step of the legal process.