Tom Shepstone
Natural Gas NOW

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A bill has been introduced in the South Dakota Senate on behalf of their governor that would go after out-of-state “riot booster” pipeline opponents. Yea!

When the DAPL pipeline opponents were burning bridges, destroying property, vandalizing equipment, leaving tons of garbage and costing North Dakota millions, I wrote a post titled “DAPL Vandals and the Trendy Elitists Who Coddle Them.” I pointed out the rioters and vandals had monetary support through a group called Rising Tide North America, which was funded by the Max and Anna Levinson Foundation (guilt-ridden, virtue-signaling heirs of an oil company) and the Tides Foundation. One of the biggest funders of the latter, in turn, has been Warren Buffett’s kid, through the NoVo Foundation. The Buffetts, of course, own trains and DAPL is competition when it comes to shipping oil by rail.

Now, there is the prospect of similar protests in South Dakota as pipeline opponents rise to fight other essential infrastructure needed to move Bakken and Canadian oil to market. The Badlands state isn’t called that for nothing, though. Governor Kristi Noem has propose two bills that are now before her State Senate that would potentially go after these funders, enablers and “riot boosters.”

The bills were announced here and here by the Governor (emphasis added):

Governor Kristi Noem today proposed two bills for pipeline construction.

“The legislative package introduced today will help ensure the Keystone XL pipeline and other future pipeline projects are built in a safe and efficient manner while protecting our state and counties from extraordinary law enforcement costs in the event of riots,” said Noem.

“I’m a supporter of property rights, freedom of speech, and freedom of assembly. We should celebrate differences of opinion, but here in South Dakota, we will have the rule of law, because rioters do not control economic development in our state.  This package creates a legal avenue, if necessary, to go after out-of-state money funding riots that go beyond expressing a viewpoint but instead aim to slowdown the pipeline build. It allows us to follow the money for riots and cut it off at the source,” continued Noem.

Governor Noem and her team have met with TransCanada, public safety, law enforcement officials, lawmakers, and other stakeholders since before taking office to discuss the Keystone XL pipeline project and to listen and develop legislative solutions that allow for an orderly construction process for this pipeline and others. The legislation is the result of those discussions.

The legislative package has two parts. First, it creates the Pipeline Engagement Activity Coordination Expenses (PEACE) fund for the coordination of law enforcement expenditures. It also includes a transparent process for fees and other funds to be collected through a variety of sources to pay for the extraordinary costs associated with the pipeline construction incurred by the state and counties.  Second, it creates a second fund and legal remedies to pursue out-of-state money funding the riots aiming to shut down the pipeline build.

It is the bolded part that is most interesting. The two bills are SB189 and SB 190. It is the former that is most interesting and the relevant language is as follows:

An Act to establish a fund to receive civil recoveries to offset costs incurred by riot boosting, to make a continuous appropriation therefor, and to declare an emergency…

In addition to any other liability or criminal penalty under law, a person is liable for riot boosting, jointly and severally with any other person, to the state or a political subdivision in an action for damages if the person:

(1) Participates in any riot and directs, advises, encourages, or solicits any other person participating in the riot to acts of force or violence;

(2) Does not personally participate in any riot but directs, advises, encourages, or solicits other persons participating in the riot to acts of force or violence; or

(3) Upon the direction, advice, encouragement, or solicitation of any other person, uses force or violence, or makes any threat to use force or violence, if accompanied by immediate power of execution, by three or more persons, acting together and without authority of law…

A person is subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of this state for riot boosting that results in a riot in this state, regardless of whether the person engages in riot boosting personally, or through any employee, agent, or subsidiary…

Any action for riot boosting shall be for the exclusive benefit of the state, political subdivision, or an otherwise damaged third party, and shall be brought in the name of the state or political subdivision. The state, a political subdivision, or any third party having an interest in preventing a riot or riot boosting may enter into an agreement to establish joint representation of a cause of action under Section 2 of this Act.

The plaintiff in an action for riot boosting may recover both special and general damages, reasonable attorney’s fees, disbursements, other reasonable expenses incurred from prosecuting the action, and punitive damages. A defendant who solicits or compensates any other person to commit an unlawful act or to be arrested is subject to three times a sum that would compensate for the detriment caused. A fine paid by a defendant for any violation of Chapter 22-10 may not be applied toward payment of liability under Section 2 of this Act.

We’ll see what happens with this. It appears the bill will pass but pipeline opponents are already screaming foul and will no doubt challenge it in court. Even if it’s upheld, there’s no guarantee it will be enforced with rigor.

Still, this is the way to go on offense. Go after the funders and the organizers. Nail Rising Tide to the wall. Put a scare on the Levinson Foundation trust-funders by suing them for gifting Rising Tide with “no strings attached” money to riot and vandalize. Embarrass them. Drag them into court. Make them spend foundation money defending themselves. Subpoena Bill McKibben to fight out who’s paying him to encourage Rising Tide rioters, as if we didn’t know.

Take the fight to them, in other words, and show why South Dakota is the Badlands!