Environmentalists Try a New Argument in Court: Its Legal to Break the Law to Save the Planet

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Environmentalists Try a New Argument in Court: It’s Legal to Break the Law to Save the Planet
For the first time ever, the ‘necessity defense’ will be allowed to let activists argue illegally shutting off pipelines isn’t a crime compared to global warming.
Stuart Miller
01.03.18 5:00 AM ET

When Emily Johnston shut the emergency valve on a pipeline in Minnesota carrying tar sands oil from Canada she hoped she was making a difference. It turns out she was making history.

In October 2016, Johnston and four other activists nicknamed the Valve Turners briefly shut down 15 percent of America’s oil supply to call attention to climate change. The Valve Turners called the pipeline companies to alert them, live-streamed shutoffs, and peacefully awaited their arrests in Minnesota, Washington, North Dakota, and Montana.

“I signed on for this, knowing I could go to prison, because of my increasing awareness of how dire the situation is,” says Johnston. “Even before the election it was clear the legal and political system needed some kind of shock.”

Johnston, along with fellow Valve Turner Annette Klapstein, and their video and support team, go on trial in January. They will likely be the first defendants in the United States to use the “necessity defense” for environmental reasons which allows defendants to argue that they committed a crime to prevent a greater harm from occurring — in this case the destruction civilization.

This was part of the Valve Turners’ plan all along, to extend their call to arms beyond the immediate impact of the event itself.

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https://www.thedailybeast.com/environmentalists-try-a-new-argument-in-court-its-legal-to-break-the-law-to-save-the-planet?ref=home