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For Immediate Release
July, 27 2011, 11:57am EDT
Contact:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167
Environmentalist Sentenced to Two Years in Jail; Thousands of Political Arrests Since Obama Inauguration
Reuters reports: "An environmental activist was sentenced to two years in prison on Tuesday in a federal court in Salt Lake City for defrauding the U.S. government by posing as a bidder for oil and gas drilling rights on Utah public lands. Tim DeChristopher, 29, had submitted the phony bids to derail an auction of energy rights." See today's Salt Lake Tribune editorial "Justice Denied."
WASHINGTON
Reuters reports: "An environmental activist was sentenced to two years in prison on Tuesday in a federal court in Salt Lake City for defrauding the U.S. government by posing as a bidder for oil and gas drilling rights on Utah public lands. Tim DeChristopher, 29, had submitted the phony bids to derail an auction of energy rights." See today's Salt Lake Tribune editorial "Justice Denied."
DeChristopher just wrote the piece: "I Do Not Want Mercy, I Want You To Join Me."
ALLISON FISHER, or via Dorry Samuels, dsamuels at citizen.org, @Public_Citizen
Fisher is the outreach director of Public Citizen's Energy Program. She said today: "The prosecution's strategy was obviously to make an example of Tim DeChristopher and intimidate climate activists from pursing change through non-violent civil disobedience, but even with the unreasonable punishment levied on DeChristopher, I think they've failed. Instead those that are dedicated to protecting their land, air and water have been given a shining example of poise and integrity. In a statement read at his sentencing, DeChristopher makes a clear and justifiable case for the action he took and in doing so has become an inspiration for - not a deterrence against - activism that challenges unjust laws."
LEONARD EIGER, subversivepeacemaking at gmail.com, https://www.gzcenter.org
Military.com reported on March 29: "Two priests, a nun and two women in their 60s who cut through fences at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor to protest submarine nuclear weapons were sentenced Monday to prison terms ranging from two to 15 months."
Eiger is a media and outreach coordinator for Disarm Now Ploughshares. He said today: "Tim's action was wonderfully clever and creative, and it definitely shined a bright light on the topic ... The one striking parallel between Tim's case and cases involving peace activists -- Disarm Now Plowshares ... etc. -- is the increasing and intense prosecution of these cases by the government and the convictions and sentences being handed down. It does appear that the government is trying to deter people from what is often the last resort to getting the government's attention when it is failing to uphold the law or protect the interests of the people (as opposed to corporate interests)."
Background: "Over 2,600 Activists Arrested in U.S. Protests Since Obama's Inauguration"
A nationwide consortium, the Institute for Public Accuracy (IPA) represents an unprecedented effort to bring other voices to the mass-media table often dominated by a few major think tanks. IPA works to broaden public discourse in mainstream media, while building communication with alternative media outlets and grassroots activists.
LATEST NEWS
'Beginning of a New Phase': Hottest June Ever Recorded for World's Oceans
"With ocean temperatures at these levels and El Niño on the horizon, we are likely to see more temperature records fall in the coming months."
Jul 01, 2026
A new report released Wednesday shows that surface temperatures of the world's oceans hit a record for June, sparking fresh warnings of grave “consequences for weather patterns, global climate and marine ecosystems” across the globe.
The analysis by the European Union’s Copernicus Marine Service, and confirmed by the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), finds that “record global sea surface temperatures” of 21.0° Celsius (69.8° Fahrenheit) in June of 2026 beat the previous record in the same month broken in 2023 and again in 2024.
C3S director Carlo Buontempo warned that the "current conditions" of the oceans "could indicate the beginning of a new phase, leading, once more, to uncharted territory."
"With ocean temperatures at these levels and El Niño on the horizon, we are likely to see more temperature records fall in the coming months," Buontempo warned. "That Copernicus Marine data reaches the same conclusion through independent methods speaks to the strength of European science—and to why open, robust data matters now more than ever.”
According to a statement from Copernicus, warmer oceans have wide-ranging impacts on natural systems and human infrastructure, noting that "higher ocean temperatures keep the atmosphere warm for longer, provide extra energy to storms and increase evaporation, thus enhancing the potential for extreme precipitation and flooding. Ocean warming also contributes to sea level rise and ice melt, and stresses marine ecosystems."
With the onset of a new El Niño cycle—which tends to trigger more pronounced weather events worldwide—the continued increase of ocean temperatures is a serious concern of scientists.
Wednesday's report on ocean temperatures also arrives as record-breaking heat waves hit both Europe and North America, offering more evidence of the perils of an ever-hotter world that is being pushed to the brink by the burning of fossil fuels and the failure of governments worldwide to finally act against the fossil fuel industry that is driving the crisis.
Surging ocean surface temperatures are "not unexpected,” Michael Meredith, an ocean scientist at the British Antarctic Survey, told CNN in response to the Copernicus report. “But the pace of warming we are now seeing is alarming.”
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Another Blow to Democratic Establishment as Melat Kiros Unseats 30-Year Incumbent
“We won tonight, but this is also something so much bigger than this moment," said Kiros, a 29-year-old democratic socialist.
Jul 01, 2026
Melat Kiros, a 29-year-old democratic socialist and first-time candidate, defeated 15-term incumbent Rep. Diana DeGette on Tuesday in Colorado's 1st Congressional District primary, the latest signal that progressive momentum and backlash against the Democratic establishment are spreading nationwide.
"We won tonight, but this is also something so much bigger than this moment," Kiros, who was fired from the law firm Sidley Austin in 2023 for speaking out in support of Palestinian rights demonstrators, told backers late Tuesday after The Associated Press called the race in her favor. "We believe that fundamental change can, and will, happen if we fight for it—if we organize, if we show no fear in standing up for what’s right. That is the message that Denver has sent to both parties, to Donald Trump, and to the entire country."
Kiros' upset win came a week after a series of progressive victories in New York congressional primaries, which sparked backlash from the party's corporate wing. Days after the New York contests, more than a dozen centrist Democrats signed an open letter declaring that "we are capitalist, not socialist," a clear rebuke of insurgent progressives.
Justice Democrats, a national progressive group that backed Kiros, said it is having its "most successful cycle to date, winning six Democratic primaries and proceeding to the top two in two California primaries." The organization recruited Darializa Avila Chevalier, who upset five-term incumbent Rep. Adriano Espaillat in New York's 13th Congressional District last week.
"Melat and our candidates continue winning this cycle because Democratic voters are finally getting leaders acting on their demands to bring the fight to the corporations raising our prices, the war lobbies profiting off endless war and genocide, and the immigration gestapo terrorizing our communities," Alexandra Rojas, Justice Democrats' executive director, said in a statement Tuesday.
Kiros—whose platform includes Medicare for All, universal childcare, and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement—prevailed despite a last-minute torrent of super PAC spending in support of DeGette. Drop Site reported that "super PACs funded by AIPAC and major big tech donors have poured roughly $2 million behind Rep. Diana DeGette on the eve of her contentious primary."
"Across the country, voters are rejecting corporate politics and electing candidates willing to take on billionaire influence, confront the climate crisis, fight for working people, and speak with moral clarity on the defining issues of the moment," said the youth-led Sunrise Movement following Kiros' win.
Kiros will be the heavy favorite to win the general election in November, when she will face Republican Christy Peterson.
Progressives also celebrated Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser's Democratic gubernatorial primary win over US Sen. Michael Bennet, whose campaign received nearly $3 million in support from billionaire former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
“This movement is what democracy looks like,” Weiser told supporters late Tuesday. “You all sent a very clear message: The future of Colorado will not be decided by out-of-state billionaires, by corporations or special interests. Colorado’s future belongs to all of us."
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Trump Plans to Make 250th US Birthday 'All About Himself' With Long Speech, Late Fireworks
One journalist said that "this is like the epitome of personalist rule—turning this into an imperial, dictatorial display of self-glorification."
Jun 30, 2026
As the desolate debacle of President Donald Trump's "Great American State Fair" continues against a backdrop of an empty National Mall and Shrek-green Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, criticism of the president's plans for his "most spectacular Trump rally" and record-seeking fireworks show mounted this week as new details of his self-aggrandizing extravaganza emerged.
"Our luck has it that America's 250 was when Trump is president, and we know that a big thrust of these 250 commemorations are in a lot of ways a celebration of Trump and Trumpism, and if it's not direct, it's the vision that Trump and the MAGA movement has of America," Center on Conscience & War executive director Mike Prysner told BreakThrough News on Tuesday.
Media Matters for America senior fellow Matt Gertz told Greg Sargent, who hosts The New Republic's The Daily Blast podcast, that "the fact that we are not going to be able to have a real celebration of America’s 250th birthday—one that respects how far we have traveled, how far we have to go... it’s a real shame that this is what we’re going to get instead: a would-be authoritarian ruler trying to make it all about himself."
On Monday, the Federal Aviation Administration made a late announcement that it would be shutting down air traffic at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport for three hours on July 3 and 12 hours on the Fourth of July "to help ensure the safe and efficient movement of air traffic during celebrations of America's 250th birthday, including the iconic flyovers and fireworks."
During a rally planned for July 4, Trump is expected to speak for at least 45 minutes starting at 9:00 pm. While attendees are advised to arrive very early, they're reportedly not allowed to bring coolers, lawn chairs, bags, or more than one bottle of water on a day when temperatures are forecast to soar to triple-digits.
Trump said earlier this month that a military flyover featuring a 17-aircraft formation will include the $400 million Boeing 747-8 "flying palace" gifted to Trump by the repressive Qatari monarchy.s
US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told Fox News on Sunday that the Trump administration is then planning the "greatest and biggest celebration of fireworks ever."
The Washington Post reported Tuesday that 850,000 fireworks will be detonated in a 40-minute show scheduled to start unusually late—after 10:30 and possibly even 11:00 pm. That's 50 times as many explosions over twice the length of a typical Fourth of July fireworks show, which even in a typical year can spark severe anxiety in dogs and other pets and post-traumatic stress disorder in veterans.
Trump DC fireworks won't start until at least 10:30 p.m. Heavy TSA-like security, so people will have to get there way early. It's going to be one-billion degrees. No coolers, no metal/thermal water containers. Enjoy your $20 bottles of Trump water and your tearful, exhausted children! Happy Fourth!
— Rex Huppke (@rexhuppke.bsky.social) June 29, 2026 at 10:52 AM
If Trump's so-called "Great American State Fair" is any indication, there should be plenty of lawn space available on the National Mall for the July 4 events.
While the president posted a self-congratulatory message to his Truth Social Network on Monday, praising the "fantastic job" his administration has done during the first week of the event and claiming the National Mall was "packed with happy people," attendees and journalists reported "light crowds, short lines, and plenty of open space."
This, despite a nationwide ad blitz on Fox and other networks and websites viewed by scores of millions of people.
Some called it the "Great American Fail."
Former Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger of Illinois said in a video posted Monday on Bluesky that "10 years ago I voted to create 'America 250.' But here's the truth: Trump started 'Freedom 250' to replace it, and made it about himself. Trump’s newest stunt? Trying to convince us there’s a big crowd for Freedom 250. But our eyes don't lie."
María José Gutierrez Chavez, trending news writer at the business magazine Fast Company, described "the unbearable emptiness of the Great American State Fair," writing that the purported celebration "looks more like a liminal space."
Gutierrez cited one TikTok user who commented, “I’ve seen graveyards with more people," and another who said that “there were more people in line for the Trader Joe’s summer tote bags."
Meanwhile, the iconic Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, a focal point of the semiquincentennial festivities, remains what Common Dreams columnist Abby Zimet described Tuesday as a "fetid debacle" as cleaning up the algae-choked centerpiece proves more difficult than anticipated.
Instead of blaming the no-bid contracted company owned by a Trump donor for the emerald embarrassment, detractors say the president has humiliated himself even further by attempting to pin the blame for his administration's failure on elusive vandals and former President Barack Obama.
Even some Trump supporters have had enough.
"This sucks," Fox News columnist David Marcus said earlier this month following an event featuring daredevil dirtbike jumps and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) cage matches on the White House lawn that critics said looked like they were inspired by the classic Mike Judge dystopian satire Idiocracy.
"This pisses me off," Marcus said after one of the UFC fighters called former First Lady Michelle Obama a man. "You wanna throw out this nonsense at a rally? Fine. Not at an official Freedom 250 event. Disgraceful."
Some are calling on people to eschew the July 4 event in favor of local celebrations.
"This is like the epitome of personalist rule—turning this into an imperial, dictatorial display of self-glorification," Sargent said. "It’s important that Americans reject this and not show up to this."
Gertz concurred, replying, "I think what we have here is a president who does not respect any sort of separation between himself and the country at large."
"He views the idea of celebrating the nation’s birthday as one and the same with celebrating himself," he added.
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