Jury Opposes Felony Charges for Protesters Who Shut Houston Ship Channel

[thackney]

Jury Opposes Felony Charges for Protesters Who Shut Houston Ship Channel
https://gcaptain.com/jury-opposes-felony-charges-for-protesters-who-shut-houston-ship-channel/
March 4, 2020

A Texas grand jury on Wednesday declined to issue felony indictments against a group of Greenpeace USA activists who closed a key oil export waterway for 18 hours last year by tying themselves to a Houston bridge and dangling over the water.

Felony charges had been brought against 31 activists involved in the September 2019 protest. The indictments, sought by the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, were under Texas’ new critical infrastructure law, which makes it a felony to interfere with oil and gas pipelines and ports, and other “critical infrastructure.”

The Harris County jurors opted instead for 25 misdemeanor indictments for obstructing a highway or other passageway. Six cases were dismissed before submission and 22 people still face separate a federal misdemeanor charge for blocking a navigable waterway.

The misdemeanor charge has a penalty of up to 180 days of jail time and a fine of up to $2,000....

[Idiot]

Jury Opposes Felony Charges for Protesters Who Shut Houston Ship Channel
https://gcaptain.com/jury-opposes-felony-charges-for-protesters-who-shut-houston-ship-channel/
March 4, 2020

A Texas grand jury on Wednesday declined to issue felony indictments against a group of Greenpeace USA activists who closed a key oil export waterway for 18 hours last year by tying themselves to a Houston bridge and dangling over the water.

Felony charges had been brought against 31 activists involved in the September 2019 protest. The indictments, sought by the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, were under Texas’ new critical infrastructure law, which makes it a felony to interfere with oil and gas pipelines and ports, and other “critical infrastructure.”

The Harris County jurors opted instead for 25 misdemeanor indictments for obstructing a highway or other passageway. Six cases were dismissed before submission and 22 people still face separate a federal misdemeanor charge for blocking a navigable waterway.

The misdemeanor charge has a penalty of up to 180 days of jail time and a fine of up to $2,000....

Sometimes it's just hard to fix STUPID.....

[Smokin Joe]

Well, if they didn't block critical infrastructure, then they couldn't have been in the way.

Next time, steam right through them.

Seagulls gotta eat, too. Right, chum?

[PeteS in CA]

The grand jury must want re-runs.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

I do hope the companies that lost 'millions of dollars' in business slap a civil suit on the individuals and Greenpeace.

That would have a bigger impact than placing them in jail.