Journalism group wants charges dropped
against pipeline protest filmmakers
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[October 21, 2016]
By Dan Whitcomb
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A press freedom
group on Thursday urged prosecutors in two states to drop charges
against three documentary filmmakers who were arrested while filming
activists as they sought to shut down major oil pipelines from Canada to
the United States.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said Lindsey Grayzel, Carl Davis
and Deia Schlosberg were acting as journalists, not protesters, when
they were taken into custody at pipeline sites in Washington state and
North Dakota, and were protected by free speech rights.
"Recording civil disobedience and arrests is news-gathering, not
conspiracy," Robert Mahoney, deputy executive director of the committee,
said in a written statement.
"Prosecuting filmmakers for covering protests sends a chilling message.
We call on authorities in North Dakota and Washington to drop these
troubling charges and to stop interfering with journalists doing their
jobs," Mahoney said.
A North Dakota judge earlier this week dismissed charges against
journalist Amy Goodman, who was arrested while filming demonstrations
there.
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During the protests, activists broke into valve stations at five remote
locations near the U.S.-Canada border on Oct. 10 to stop the flow of
crude through arteries that pump about 15 percent of the oil consumed in
the United States daily.
Companies operating the pipelines shut down their lines for five to
seven hours as a safety measure before restarting them, according to
Reuters estimates and company representatives.
The action underscored the vulnerability of the thousands of miles of
pipeline in the United States that deliver energy to consumers.
Protest group Climate Direct Action has said it acted in part to support
the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, which is protesting construction of the
$3.7 billion Dakota Access pipeline carrying oil from North Dakota to
the U.S. Gulf Coast.
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![](../images/102116pics/news_I15.jpg)
Actress Shailene Woodley is seen in this booking photo released by
Morton County Sheriff's Department in North Dakota, U.S. on October
11, 2016. Courtesy Morton County Sheriff's Department/Handout via
REUTERS/File Photo
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On Oct. 9, actress Shailene Woodley and 26 other people were
arrested on charges of trespassing and engaging in a riot at a
demonstration against the Dakota Access Pipeline near St. Anthony,
North Dakota.
Last week, singer Neil Young, actor Mark Ruffalo and other
celebrities joined in calling for charges to be dropped against
Schlosberg, producer of the 2016 documentary "How to Let Go of the
World and Love All the Things Climate Can't Change
Schlosberg was charged along with activists Samuel Jessup and
Michael Foster on Thursday with three counts of conspiracy, charges
that carry a maximum penalty of 45 years in prison.
(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Peter Cooney)
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