Must read!-----Greenpeace Pays the Piper

The verdict obliges Greenpeace to pay damages of $667 million, a sum that could bankrupt the iconic NGO.  - James B. Meigs

The case dates back to 2016, when as many as 10,000 activists traveled to North Dakota and joined Native American groups trying to stop construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Some of the protesters vandalized equipment, threatened workers, and blocked access roads. 

Energy Transfer, the pipeline’s owner, lodged a civil suit accusing Greenpeace of secretly directing and funding the most militant activists. 

• But, more important the case shines a light on the long-hidden connections between seemingly mainstream nonprofits and radical protesters who are sowing violence across the country.

The North Dakota protests fit a pattern that has become increasingly common over the past two decades...
These protests all had several things in common. 

For one, they all spiraled into lawbreaking—trespassing, vandalism, threatening passersby—or naked violence, including gunfire, arson, and attacks on police. 

They all became magnets for a cadre of experienced, antifa-style activists who traveled long distances to join the action...
Until recently, the NGOs and radical networks behind these movements were able to operate in the shadows. 

But Energy Transfer’s successful suit against Greenpeace may mark the start of a new era. 

The trial exposed some of the ways that a big-money NGO—and a cadre of radical activists—can steer an initially peaceful protest toward mayhem.