Two Dakota Access pipeline protesters are facing significant possible prison time after a federal grand jury indicted them on charges related to energy infrastructure opposition tactics.
Pipeline opponents Jessica Rae Reznicek and Ruby Katherine Montoya are each facing one count of conspiracy to damage an energy facility, four counts of use of fire in the commission of a felony, and four counts of malicious use of fire, according to a recent press release from the U.S. Department of Justice for the Southern District of Iowa. The pair is accused of knowingly and willfully damaging, trying to damage or causing a significant disruption on the Dakota Access system in 2016 and 2017, the court's release said.
If convicted of the offenses, each woman could face up to 110 years in prison, assuming the maximum terms for each charge and consecutive sentences, Kevin VanderSchel, the Southern District of Iowa's First Assistant U.S. Attorney, confirmed Oct. 8.
Industry advocacy group Grow America's Infrastructure Now said that the alleged crimes should come with serious consequences, contending that protesters' alleged actions should be considered as acts of "eco-terrorism."
"These are serious criminal charges brought forward by the grand jury. Naturally, Ms. Reznicek and Ms. Montoya deserve their day in court and an opportunity to be heard," Craig Stevens, spokesman for the Grow America's Infrastructure Now coalition, said in an Oct. 7 email. "However, the wanton and willful destruction of U.S. pipelines cannot be tolerated."
The grand jury indictment alleged that the protesters used gasoline-soaked rags, flaming tires and cutting torches to damage valve sites along the pipeline, among other things.
"It is not only dangerous to the individuals engaging in the activity, but it could also have significant consequences on people and businesses relying on that energy to get to market," Stevens added.
But the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, an environmental group, contended that the punishment for the charges is not only harsh but unjust.
"110 years would not be justice — it would be retribution inflicted by the government for the benefit of private industry. That is unjust and a travesty," Maya van Rossum, leader of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, said in an Oct. 7 email. "We are already seeing across our nation federal and state government officials who are in league with industry seeking to criminalize speech and protest when fracking and pipelines are involved."
The trial is scheduled for Dec. 2 before U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger. (U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa docket 4:19-cr-00172)
The Energy Transfer LP-led Dakota Access pipeline project attracted broad opposition and was the target of months of protests led by the Standing Rock Sioux and Cheyenne River Sioux tribes in 2016.
The fallout has lasted years. Earlier in 2019, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem introduced legislation to recover the cost of policing and cleaning up protests similar to those staged against Dakota Access in 2016 that halted construction for months. The Dakota Access protest and related clashes between protesters and police resulted in injuries, arrests, damage to construction equipment and costs to government agencies. The governor said the new laws would penalize those who tried to turn peaceful protest into riots.
Dakota Access is a 1,172-mile pipeline that moves light sweet crude oil from the Bakken area of North Dakota to Illinois. It has been in operation since June of 2017, transporting roughly 570,000 barrels of oil per day.
Protesters and police clashed repeatedly during 2016-2017 protests against the Energy Transfer-led Dakota Access pipeline project. |

