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IPFS News Link • Free Speech

Ridiculous: Reporting on the Dakota Pipeline may get journalist 45 years in jail

• Natural News

(NaturalNews) On October 11, journalist and documentary filmmaker, Deia Schlosberg, was arrested while filming, in her professional capacity, a protest in solidarity with the struggle against the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Rather than recognizing the right of journalists to document First Amendment activity, the prosecutor charged Schlosberg with three felonies: conspiracy to theft of property, conspiracy to theft of services and conspiracy to tampering with or damaging a public service. If convicted of all charges, the journalist could be sentenced to 45 years in prison.

The Dakota Access Pipeline is a controversial oil pipeline that has come under fierce resistance in North Dakota, where it is slated to cross indigenous land recognized as sovereign in treaties with the U.S. government. Protesters say the pipeline would destroy sacred sites and threaten water supplies across the Midwest.
 

Government protecting fossil fuel interests

Schlosberg was arrested while filming a protest in Walhalla, North Dakota, where activists shut down a tar sands pipeline in solidarity with the Dakota Access struggle. Police confiscated her footage and held her for a full 48 hours before filing charges.

In a recent statement, Schlosberg noted how the mainstream media has consistently failed to give due attention to struggles against fossil fuel infrastructure.

"The mainstream did not break the story on fracking nor did it break the story about what is happening at the Standing Rock reservation in North Dakota," she said.


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