Category: Announcements

Announcements from Rising Tide and Rising Tide affiliates and close allies. An announcement is pretty much never also a reportback!

We Won’t Be Intimidated

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Dear Friends-Our movement is strong. We take risks and push envelopes. We take action when the places and communities we hold dear are threatened.  And we won’t be intimidated by government or corporate efforts to break our resolve.

We have no choice. Big Oil and Big Coal want to poison our water, cloud the air we breathe with pollution and wreak havoc on the climate.

Our dear friend and comrade, Tim DeChristopher, of Salt Lake City, has taken steps that few others in this climate movement have taken. In 2008, he successfully derailed an illegal land sale that would have destroyed pristine Utah wilderness for oil and gas development. As a result, today, he was sentenced to two years in federal prison, slapped with a $10,000 fine, and immediately taken into custody by agents of the corporate state.

That’s right, in a blatant attempt to silence climate activists everywhere, Tim was sentenced to TWO FUCKING YEARS in federal prison for peacefully derailing an illegal land sale.

Despite the best efforts of Big Oil and Coal, Tim’s message of a peaceful rebellion against the status quo is spreading. Direct action in the climate movement is strong and growing stronger.

Just this month, we’ve seen people across the country risking their bodies to stop the fossil fuel machine:

  • Two weeks ago in Montana, Earth First! and Rising Tide occupied the capitol building in protest of tar sands oil development with five locking down in PVC pipes fashioned into a mock oil pipeline.
  • Last week in West Virginia, two tree-sits went up on Coal River Mountain to halt further strip mining.
  • And today in Salt Lake City, 26 more climate activists joined a solidarity action to express their outrage at Tim’s harsh sentence. Those 26 are now in jail awaiting release.

In case they hadn’t noticed- it’s on! And Tim’s sentencing won’t slow us down – it’s just the beginning. In the words of another great Salt Lake City radical “Don’t mourn, organize!”

Next month in St. Louis, Rising Tide plans to bring this climate fight to Peabody Energy and Arch Coal’s front door.

Along with allies from throughout the Mid-West, we’ve organized the Midwest Rising Convergence on Aug. 12-15. Our movement is not only strong, it is growing..

We invite you to join us. Register here.

In Solidarity,

Rising Tide North America

FYI: Questioned by police about April 20 protest

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Hey folks,

I wanted to spread the word that I have been contacted by the SF Police Department about an apparently open investigation around a public protest during the Rising Tide Day of Action Against Extraction on April 20th in downtown SF. I did not provide any information to the officer and instead consulted with a lawyer through the National Lawyers Guild (NLG). If you or anyone you know is personal affected by this issue please do NOT contact me directly about it, as that would be counter-productive. However, if anyone is similarly contacted by law enforcement they can call the NLG at (415)285-1041 for a referral to a lawyer for legal advice. Continue reading

March on Blair Mountain, Stop MTR! June 5-11

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Dear Friends–

If it was easy, they wouldn’t call it a “struggle.”
In 1921, 15,000 miners took up arms against the coal industry’s gun thugs and fought for the basic right to live and work in decent conditions. It was the second largest armed insurrection in the U.S. history (after the Civil War) and the only time the U.S. government used airplanes to drop bombs on it’s own people. The Battle of Blair Mountain has become an historic symbol of resistance against King Coal. Now, greedy coal companies have removed it’s historical preservation status and begun to strip mine Blair Mountain.
In fierce resistance, Appalachian residents most harmed by mountaintop removal coal mining are joining together with union rank and file, retired miners, environmentalists, students, teachers and more for a historic march and direct action to commemorate the battle’s 90th anniversary from June 5-11. And Rising Tide North America will be joining them.

 

JOIN THE MARCH ON BLAIR MOUNTAIN

The March on Blair Mountain builds on the energy of Appalachia Rising, which brought thousands to the streets of Washington D.C. last September, and spread to Kentucky where dozens occupied their governor’s office for justice in their state and the region last February.

Now we are bringing the movement to Blair Mountain.

Thanks for all you do.

For the mountains,
Rising Tide North America
https://risingtidenorthamerica.org

 

Breaking: Dept of Interior Drops Charges Against 21 Arrested During Reclaim Power

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Update from Washington D.C.: The Department of Interior dropped charges for the 21 arrested during Reclaim Power March April 18.

On April 18th, a thousand people marched to the Dept. of Interior in an unpermitted march, organized by Rising Tide North America and Peaceful Uprising, singing “We Shall Overcome.” Hundreds stormed the building’s lobby for a multi-hour occupation which resulted in 21 arrests.

Today was their arraignment. All 21 were in court for our arraignment from all over the country. Some planned on going to trial.

But then there was a strange turn. The Dept of Interior essentially dropped all charges.

Here’s a first hand account from one of the DOI 21:

“The court called us up front and, one by one, called us up to the clerk who gave us a paper which said, in part, “The US Attorney’s office for the District of Columbia or the office of the Attorney General for the D. of C. has declined to proceed with prosecution against you for the incident that led to your arrest for the offense of UNLAWFUL ENTRY. This means that your arrest has been NO PAPERED. However, the prosecuting attorney could seek to proceed with prosecution at a later date.”

via Shadia Fayne Wood

 

Our lawyer afterwards said that in 20 years of experience he knows of only one case where someone who was “no papered” was later prosecuted for the charge.

The 21 of us went outside the courthouse and after exchanging hugs we sang “If I Had a Hammer” together. We also talked about the next big action for many of us, the March on Blair Mountain. We were all juiced!”

Was it the threat of taking it to court, the sheer number of arrestees, or the upcoming presidential election that swayed them? Maybe all three.