The American Civil Liberties Union describes ways local law enforcement and the federal government is assaulting the rights of protest and free speech of environmental activists. During the protests of the Dakota Access Pipeline on Standing Rock Indian Reservation, federal and local law enforcement agencies conspired with the pipeline’s private security in attacking nonviolent protesters. FBI agents infiltrated the activist camps at Standing Rock. The Federal Aviation Association instituted “no-fly zones” to prevent media coverage of the protests. Legislators are trying to criminalize protest by passing laws classifying environmental activism as economic terrorism. (ACLU, February 6, 2018, by Jenna Bitar)
Trump administration misinformation remains one of the greatest threats to citizens concerned about the environment. The Environmental Protection Agency’s Scott Pruitt continues to make false statement about global warming including, “I think there’s assumptions made that because the climate is warming, that that necessarily is a bad thing.” Pruitt went on to suggest in interview with a Las Vegas news station that humans could flourish during a warming trend concluding, “… Do we know what the ideal surface temperature should be in the year 2100 or year 2018? It’s fairly arrogant for us to think we know exactly what it should be in 2100.” (The Guardian, February 11, 2018, by Dana Nuccitelli)