Police Trained to Treat Keystone XL Protests as "Terrorists" (View TransCanada's PowerPoints) - AlterNet
Police Trained to Treat Keystone XL Protesters as 'Terrorists' (View TransCanada's PowerPoints)
Photo Credit: Shutterstock.com/Rena Schild
Its often difficult to gauge just how much fear activists instill in the powers that be. But on Wednesday, environmental activists protesting the Keystone XL pipeline saw firsthand how much TransCanada, the corporation in charge of the pipeline, is shaking in its boots.
Bold Nebraska, a grassroots landowner advocacy group, obtained TransCanada's presentation slides (below) via a Freedom of Information Act request to the Nebraska State Patrol. These slides revealed that TransCanada provided training to both federal and local police forces on how to crack down on environmental activists, even going so far as to train them to arrest the activists under anti-terrorism statutes.
Lauren Regan, legal coordinator for Tar Sands Blockade and executive director of the Civil Liberties Defense Center said , This is clear evidence of the collusion between TransCanada and the federal government assisting local police to unlawfully monitor and harass political protestors.
According to a 350.org press release the slides were presented last month in Nebraska, althought they date back to December, 2012.They specifically call out Occupy Pipe, Occupy Houston, STOP, Rainforest Action Network and Tar Sands Blockade in their presentations, which create an overall narrative that the activists are criminals and terrorists who need to be stopped.
One slide even has photos and descriptions of the professional organizers in a most wanted fashion:
Scott Parkin, an organizer at Rising Tide North America and campaigner at the Rainforest Action Network , who was listed on this slide, told AlterNet: Its pretty appalling. They want to paint us as terrorists and make people scared of us.
To the contrary, Parkin said, the activistssome of whom are grandparents are not a bunch of crooks working underground. They are very upfront about their goals and work with landowners.
The slides describe the movement as lead by professionals and organized. They report that Tar Sands Blockade appears to be well-funded by Large and small donation from individuals. Under a slide titled, Protestor Tactics, TransCanada states the activists suddenly show up, driving to the entrance of site. Could be five or fifteen or more in several vehicles.
Under a slide titled Protestor Motivations, TransCanada implies that these activists are just protesting because thats what they do. One bullet point simply quotes an activist saying: I have been an activist for fifty years. I am seventy, obviously side-stepping the activists true motivations for wanting to stop the Keystone XL pipeline.
Further slides list the activists criminal activity, to which Tar Sands Blockade responded on their site:
Although TransCanadas presentation to authorities contains information about property destruction, sabotage, and booby traps, police in Texas and Oklahoma have never alleged, accused, or charged Tar Sands Blockade activists of any such behaviors. Since August 2012, Tar Sands Blockade has carried out dozens of successful nonviolent direct actions to physically halt construction of the Keystone XL pipeline in Texas and Oklahoma. All of these acts, as well as every pipeline protest in Nebraska, have maintained strict commitments to nonviolence .
Another slide lists all of the laws the activists can supposedly be found violating, and a presentation suggests that the activists are planning terrorist acts, and can thus be charged via anti-terrorism statutes:
According to the presentation, there are eight signs of terrorism, including surveillance, suspicious persons and terrorism funding.
Ron Seifert, a spokesperson for Tar Sands Blockade who was pictured in the slideshow said : Try as TransCanada might to slander Tar Sands Blockade and our growing grassroots movement, we know who the real criminals are. The real criminals are those profiting from this deadly tar sands pipeline by endangering families living along the route and pumping illegal levels of air toxins into fence-line communities.
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Well I guess that I'm going to be arrested as a ''terrorist'', since I have in the past, and will in the future protest the pipeline.
What will be interesting if the protester are on American Indian reservations...Local cops a no no..Will have to be the DOJ and FBI...sinceI'm sureterrorism would fall under the ''major crimes act''...
That is probably true Suz.