A North Dakota jury granted almost $700 million in damages to the Dakota Access Pipeline’s developer, Energy Transfers, holding Greenpeace liable for contributing to the widespread protests that also involved violence and sought to obstruct the energy initiative.

During the pipeline actions, the groups in attendance engaged in destructive acts such as setting fires, damaging machinery, obstructing roadways, slaughtering animals, intimidating employees, and clashing with law enforcement, leading to over 100 arrests before North Dakota’s severe winter forced most protesters to abandon their camp.

Following the National Guard’s removal of the remaining activists in February 2017, workers discovered twelve abandoned dogs and removed 21 million pounds of debris from the site during a $1.1 million cleanup effort.

PHOTO CREDIT: Pixabay