A North Dakota jury has dealt a crushing blow to Greenpeace, ordering the environmental group to pay a staggering $667 million in damages to pipeline company Energy Transfer. The verdict, issued Wednesday, is a direct result of Greenpeace’s role in the destructive protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) nearly a decade ago.
Greenpeace had previously warned that a judgment in the range of $300 million could bankrupt its U.S. operations. The jury, however, went even further, awarding more than double that amount—a decision that could spell the end for the organization if the ruling stands.
Greenpeace hit with $667 million judgement.
“…massive financial blow to the group that environmentalists say could chill future climate advocacy” pic.twitter.com/obB3oD3oKb
— Ryan Maue (@RyanMaue) March 19, 2025
Greenpeace has vowed to appeal, insisting that it played only a minor role in the demonstrations. The group has tried to frame the lawsuit as an attack on free speech, despite the well-documented evidence that it helped fuel the protests, which escalated into violence and property destruction.
The 2016–2017 DAPL protests, centered near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, initially gained media attention as a fight against an oil pipeline crossing sacred land and threatening water supplies.
The demonstrations quickly spiraled out of control, drawing radical environmental activists, celebrities, and political figures—including current Trump cabinet members Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard.
BREAKING NEWS: The GreenPeace Organized protestors who kidnapped me because I asked awkward questions have been found liable for hundreds of million of dollars damages pic.twitter.com/rxgaRV0mcw
— Phelim McAleer (@PhelimMcAleer) March 19, 2025
What began as a protest became a spectacle of vandalism and lawlessness, alienating local residents in the Bismarck-Mandan area. By the time the activists left, they had created an environmental disaster of their own, abandoning mountains of trash and waste that took weeks to clean up. The irony was lost on no one.
Despite the controversy, the Dakota Access Pipeline has been operational since 2017. The project remains entangled in legal challenges, with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe continuing efforts to shut it down. Meanwhile, a small section of the pipeline crossing federal land beneath Lake Oahe awaits final approval.
