Eight different state legislatures across the US are simultaneously considering nearly identical new laws that will criminalize protests on property defined as “critical infrastructure.” The legal definition of “critical infrastructure” incorporates almost everything serving as the backbone of the current economic system.
The bills roll out severe criminal penalties for people who go onto oil and gas industry owned property, which are defined as “critical infrastructure” under state law. If the bills pass into law, it will mean increasingly harsh enforcement mechanisms for prosecutors to use against people trying to protect their communities and families.
Critics say the laws are designed to prevent pipeline protesters and others calling attention to corporate infrastructure destroying communities.
The bills can be traced back to two organizations, the American Legislative Exchange Council also known as ALEC and the Council of State Governments, both receive massive corporate financial backing.
In January, Indiana, Illinois, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, North Dakota, Wyoming, Idaho, and Ohio all started considering this corporate designed legislation.
Photo: “14a.SupremeCourtPolice.WDC.19January2018” by Elvert Barnes is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
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