
The so-called "Zenith Five" in court. "Zenith Energy Corporation, and the city's inability to shut it down, is the poster child for what is wrong with our system," defendant Margaret Butler said in a statement Thursday. (Photo: @RickRappaport2020)
Landmark Win in 'Fight for Habitable Future' as Jury Refuses to Convict Climate Activists Who Presented Necessity Defense
"When citizens are told the truth about the climate crisis—which is the first of Extinction Rebellion's demands—they take appropriate and responsible action, as our jury did, and we thank them."
Environmentalists celebrated a landmark victory in the "fight for a habitable future" after a Portland, Oregon jury on Thursday refused to convict five Extinction Rebellion activists--including valve turner Ken Ward--who presented the climate necessity defense at their trial for blockading a train track used by Zenith Energy to transport crude oil.
The activists emphasized that the win was only partial because the criminal trespassing case ended in a mistrial rather than a full acquittal. Just one of six jurors voted to convict the activists while the five others voted to acquit.
"We need to take note of the lessons learned by the labor movement--mass civil disobedience works. The climate crisis is a workers issue, we need to unite to shut down business as usual. Right now."
--Margaret Butler
But Ward said the jury's refusal to convict even when presented with video evidence of the trespassing "is a vindication of our call for climate activists to use a climate necessity defense," which states that it is at times justified to break the law to combat the planetary crisis.
"When citizens are told the truth about the climate crisis--which is the first of Extinction Rebellion's demands--they take appropriate and responsible action, as our jury did, and we thank them," said Ward.
The five activists were arrested last April for building a garden on the tracks of Houston-based Zenith Energy's railroad terminal in Portland to protest expansion of the fossil fuel infrastructure.
"The activists had been protesting the expansion of the oil terminal at a time when they say we should be dismantling fossil fuel infrastructure, not creating more," the local radio station KOPB-FM reported at the time. "A few small mounds of soil extend onto the rail line--not much, but apparently enough to make it unusable. Activists also sat on the tracks."
\u201cThere\u2019s a group of, at this point, 25 or so people on NW Front, at a \u201cVictory Garden\u201d protest blocking part of railroad tracks used by, among others, Zenith Energy.\u201d— Kristi Turnquist (@Kristi Turnquist) 1555871761
"Zenith Energy Corporation, and the city's inability to shut it down, is the poster child for what is wrong with our system," defendant Margaret Butler said in a statement Thursday. "We need to take note of the lessons learned by the labor movement--mass civil disobedience works. The climate crisis is a workers issue, we need to unite to shut down business as usual. Right now."
Lauren Regan, lead attorney for the group of activists, said it is now up to the Multnomah County district attorney's office to decide whether to re-prosecute the climate campaigners.
"The jury's inability to convict the activists," said Regan, "reflects the prevailing community consciousness which is unlikely to punish climate defenders for acts of nonviolent resistance."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. The final deadline for our crucial Summer Campaign fundraising drive is just days away, and we’re falling short of our must-hit goal. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Environmentalists celebrated a landmark victory in the "fight for a habitable future" after a Portland, Oregon jury on Thursday refused to convict five Extinction Rebellion activists--including valve turner Ken Ward--who presented the climate necessity defense at their trial for blockading a train track used by Zenith Energy to transport crude oil.
The activists emphasized that the win was only partial because the criminal trespassing case ended in a mistrial rather than a full acquittal. Just one of six jurors voted to convict the activists while the five others voted to acquit.
"We need to take note of the lessons learned by the labor movement--mass civil disobedience works. The climate crisis is a workers issue, we need to unite to shut down business as usual. Right now."
--Margaret Butler
But Ward said the jury's refusal to convict even when presented with video evidence of the trespassing "is a vindication of our call for climate activists to use a climate necessity defense," which states that it is at times justified to break the law to combat the planetary crisis.
"When citizens are told the truth about the climate crisis--which is the first of Extinction Rebellion's demands--they take appropriate and responsible action, as our jury did, and we thank them," said Ward.
The five activists were arrested last April for building a garden on the tracks of Houston-based Zenith Energy's railroad terminal in Portland to protest expansion of the fossil fuel infrastructure.
"The activists had been protesting the expansion of the oil terminal at a time when they say we should be dismantling fossil fuel infrastructure, not creating more," the local radio station KOPB-FM reported at the time. "A few small mounds of soil extend onto the rail line--not much, but apparently enough to make it unusable. Activists also sat on the tracks."
\u201cThere\u2019s a group of, at this point, 25 or so people on NW Front, at a \u201cVictory Garden\u201d protest blocking part of railroad tracks used by, among others, Zenith Energy.\u201d— Kristi Turnquist (@Kristi Turnquist) 1555871761
"Zenith Energy Corporation, and the city's inability to shut it down, is the poster child for what is wrong with our system," defendant Margaret Butler said in a statement Thursday. "We need to take note of the lessons learned by the labor movement--mass civil disobedience works. The climate crisis is a workers issue, we need to unite to shut down business as usual. Right now."
Lauren Regan, lead attorney for the group of activists, said it is now up to the Multnomah County district attorney's office to decide whether to re-prosecute the climate campaigners.
"The jury's inability to convict the activists," said Regan, "reflects the prevailing community consciousness which is unlikely to punish climate defenders for acts of nonviolent resistance."
Environmentalists celebrated a landmark victory in the "fight for a habitable future" after a Portland, Oregon jury on Thursday refused to convict five Extinction Rebellion activists--including valve turner Ken Ward--who presented the climate necessity defense at their trial for blockading a train track used by Zenith Energy to transport crude oil.
The activists emphasized that the win was only partial because the criminal trespassing case ended in a mistrial rather than a full acquittal. Just one of six jurors voted to convict the activists while the five others voted to acquit.
"We need to take note of the lessons learned by the labor movement--mass civil disobedience works. The climate crisis is a workers issue, we need to unite to shut down business as usual. Right now."
--Margaret Butler
But Ward said the jury's refusal to convict even when presented with video evidence of the trespassing "is a vindication of our call for climate activists to use a climate necessity defense," which states that it is at times justified to break the law to combat the planetary crisis.
"When citizens are told the truth about the climate crisis--which is the first of Extinction Rebellion's demands--they take appropriate and responsible action, as our jury did, and we thank them," said Ward.
The five activists were arrested last April for building a garden on the tracks of Houston-based Zenith Energy's railroad terminal in Portland to protest expansion of the fossil fuel infrastructure.
"The activists had been protesting the expansion of the oil terminal at a time when they say we should be dismantling fossil fuel infrastructure, not creating more," the local radio station KOPB-FM reported at the time. "A few small mounds of soil extend onto the rail line--not much, but apparently enough to make it unusable. Activists also sat on the tracks."
\u201cThere\u2019s a group of, at this point, 25 or so people on NW Front, at a \u201cVictory Garden\u201d protest blocking part of railroad tracks used by, among others, Zenith Energy.\u201d— Kristi Turnquist (@Kristi Turnquist) 1555871761
"Zenith Energy Corporation, and the city's inability to shut it down, is the poster child for what is wrong with our system," defendant Margaret Butler said in a statement Thursday. "We need to take note of the lessons learned by the labor movement--mass civil disobedience works. The climate crisis is a workers issue, we need to unite to shut down business as usual. Right now."
Lauren Regan, lead attorney for the group of activists, said it is now up to the Multnomah County district attorney's office to decide whether to re-prosecute the climate campaigners.
"The jury's inability to convict the activists," said Regan, "reflects the prevailing community consciousness which is unlikely to punish climate defenders for acts of nonviolent resistance."