Honor The Earth wants Walz Administration to drop charges against Line 3 protests

MINNESOTA (KVRR) — Mark Ruffalo, Jackson Browne, Jane Fonda and more join Honor the Earth and other Indigenous leaders condemning the charges against more than 800 activists who were arrested one year ago for protesting the Enbridge Line 3 pipeline.

“A lot of people support water protectors and a lot of people believe that water should be protected over the rights of a Canadian corporation. A lot of people are deeply concerned with the fact that Minnesota took over $8 million from a Canadian multinational to arrest, charge and harass people like us,” Honor The Earth Executive Director Winona LaDuke said.

Honor the Earth has sent a letter featuring celebrities and several Indigenous tribes calling for Minnesota leadership to drop charges or have Attorney General Keith Ellison lead Line 3 cases as a special prosecutor.

The long list of charges includes obstruction, trespassing and conspiring, aiding and abetting.

“There were some people however that were charged with felonies including a theft of time. They were charged with stealing time from Enbridge. Stealing time. I found that was a very interesting suggestion. I feel that Enbridge stole years of my time. Years of my life so maybe I can charge them with that,” LaDuke said.

Enbridge Inc. says in a statement activists took part in “Illegal and unsafe acts that endangered themselves, first responders and workers and caused millions of dollars in damages. We support the justice system holding those activists who flouted the law accountable.”

“The price of oil is too high in terms of blood and arrests and certainly the environment. I can never accept Enbridge’s fantasy world where they believe they have done us a good favor,” LaDuke said.

LaDuke says North Dakota and Minnesota governments are too focused on short-term profits and election favors instead of thinking about how their negligence affects future generations.