Federal suit targets Greenpeace for members' actions Experts say conviction may dampen dissent

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | October 11, 2003 | Adam Liptak

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Three miles off the Florida coast in April 2002, two Greenpeace activists clambered from an inflatable rubber speedboat onto a cargo ship. They were detained before they could unfurl a banner, spent the weekend in custody and two months later were sentenced to time served for boarding the ship without permission.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Catch the terrorists before they attack - Earth Liberation Front

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[Highest Authority]

Greenpeace and the Sierra Club are both terrorist organizations.

[Wonder Warthog]

Obviously, Greenpeace doesn't understand the root of "civil disobedience"---i.e. the willingness to TAKE THE CONSEQUENCES for having violated the law. Such organizations have, in the past, gotten a "free ride" for such unlawful activities.

[JoeGar]

If you can't do the time, don't do the crime.

[Qwinn]

My understanding is that Greenpeace is already being investigated for using contributions to fund these activities from tax-exempt sources illegally. And not just a little. A lot.

Wish I had the link handy. I'll dig a bit and will post if I find it.

Qwinn

[Libertarianize the GOP]

ping

[Brandon]

"Never before has our government criminally prosecuted an entire organization for the free speech activities of its supporters," said John Passacantando, the executive director of Greenpeace in the United States.

Hmmm. I seem to have the expurgated version of the Constitution -- the one that doesn't include any clause protecting a right to commit criminal trespass. Maybe I should ask Greenpeace if they can provide me a copy of the full, unedited version.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Bump!

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Bump!

[BullDog108]

Check Google out with "greenpeace tax violations", and you will come up with an ocean of info!

[Tijeras_Slim]

The group is charged with violating an obscure 1872 law

With a little digging into the moeny trail, I bet RICO would apply to these folks.

[sergeantdave]

The black civil rights organization Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) has charged Greenpeace with being racist and keeping Africa poor, sick and underdeveloped.

CORE’s spokesman, Niger Innis, blasted Greenpeace for being a “powerful elite of First World activists whose hardcore agenda puts people last.” Greenpeace has been at the head of campaigns to ban the use of the insecticide DDT to fight mosquito-borne malaria. Malaria kills 2 million people each year in Africa and Asia, mostly women and children.

[livius]

Curiously enough, none of these people objected when the Federal Government started using RICO statutes against anti-abortion organizations, even though their "illegal acts" (things like kneeling on public sidewalks and hence allegedly having a negative impact on abortion clinic business) were considerably less damaging and hazardous than the Greenpeace stunts.

[thinktwice]

In court papers, the organization's lawyers warned that the prosecution "could significantly affect our nation's tradition of civil protest and civil disobedience, a tradition that has endured from the Boston Tea Party through the modern civil rights movement.

Civil protest becomes criminal when trespass occurs.

The Boston Tea Party was revolutionary criminal trespass; and so it is with the boarding of ships at sea by Greenpeace.

When Greenpeace wins in revolution against America, they too will become good guys.

[The Electrician]

A more apt comparison for this action against Greenpeace would be to the confiscation of the Aryan Nations Compound (in Idaho?) a few years ago. Both were organized criminal enterprises.

[boris]

It would seem to fall under laws against piracy on the high seas.

They should have been made to walk the plank--and we should have had a half-dozen SEALs sink the Rainbow Warrior just for the pure heck of it.

Can't let the Frenchies look better than us.

--Boris

[freekitty]

I love the way these people twist words and law to make it look like it is only applying to one group and because of this, everyone would be punished. It sounds good in theory and some of it may be true; however, we all know that usually it's not that one group, Greenpeace in this case, that will be punished.

As Hitlery is fond of spouting "It's the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy." It anything, it's propoganda.

[Bob Mc]

So then by their acts, Greenpeace is a "revolutionary" organization, committing crimes against the American government. They probably also like to think they are revolting against "King George", just like our founding fathers did. What a joke.