Lawless Planet – Drilled: How Greenpeace Got Sued for the Standing Rock Protests

Podcast: Lawless Planet (Wondery)
Episode: Drilled: How Greenpeace Got Sued for the Standing Rock Protests
Date: December 29, 2025
Host: Zach Goldbaum
Reporter: Aline Brown

Episode Overview

This episode scrutinizes the origins, evolution, and legal fallout from the historic Standing Rock protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). Reported by Aline Brown—one of only two journalists present daily for the landmark Energy Transfer v. Greenpeace trial—the episode explores how an oil company recast the indigenous-led movement as a vast environmentalist conspiracy spearheaded by Greenpeace, seeking to penalize the organization with a $666 million judgment. The story weaves together protest on the ground, courtroom drama, dubious infiltrations, and the high-stakes weaponization of the legal system against climate activists.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Standing Rock Protests: Origins and On-the-Ground Experience

[01:36–04:43, 09:28–17:29]

• Grassroots Beginnings: The Standing Rock movement began with indigenous communities, particularly the Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribes, aiming to defend their water and sovereignty against the DAPL, which was rerouted away from a white-majority city to threaten tribal lands—a clear case of environmental racism.

• Tensions on the Frontline: Protestors faced militarized police and private security, with accounts of women singing death songs—a sign of their willingness to die for their cause—before collectively breaching police lines.

• Key Quote:
  "In our culture, when you sing your death song, that means you are obviously not afraid to die."
  — Cody Hall, [02:13].

• The Role of Social Media: Facebook Live and other platforms amplified the protests, attracting attention and people from across the world.
  "People from around the world poured into the pipeline resistance camps... from indigenous nations... everyday people... longtime activists."
  — Aline Brown, [17:29].

• Escalation: Security deployed dogs on protestors, which went viral after dramatic footage (captured by Democracy Now) of people being bitten and maced.

2. Complexities and Fractures Within the Movement

[14:08–26:32]

• Red Warrior Camp and Leadership Challenges: Cody Hall, initially tapped to be the spokesperson for Red Warrior Camp, insisted on nonviolence and distanced himself as some members embraced more aggressive tactics. "I don't want to know what you're doing. If you tell me and I get picked up, then you start breaking down the chain of resistance."
  — Cody Hall, [14:08].
• Frictions with Allies: Not all groups agreed on strategy, leading to splits and internal controversy.
• Infiltration and Suspicion: The swelling numbers and attention attracted not only allies, but also infiltrators, opportunists, and undercover agents.

3. Surveillance, Infiltration, and the Envelope Man Incident

[20:57–25:16, 36:06–40:45]

• State & Private Security Cloak-and-Dagger: Protest leaders like Cody Hall were targeted with militarized law enforcement tactics, intelligence operations from TigerSwan (a private security firm with war-zone experience), airborne surveillance, and FBI attention. "He had helmets... AR15s pointed at me... and met with cheers, 'Right, we got you.'"
  — Cody Hall, [20:57].
• Envelope Man: Cody recounts a mysterious incident where a man claimed to represent Greenpeace and offered him $200,000 in cash—an offer Cody refused, suspecting a setup. Greenpeace denies ever operating this way. "'I got money for you ... because we watched one of your videos ... I want to give it to you.' And I said, 'I'm not taking anything, man.' My instinct said, get the hell out of there."
  — Cody Hall, [24:40].
• Later Investigation: Brown uncovers TigerSwan documents indicating infiltrators met Cody at exactly the time of the Envelope Man incident, raising questions about whether the real intent was entrapment or discrediting protest leaders.

4. The Lawsuit: From Dismissal to a $666 Million Verdict

[32:04–36:10]

• Legal Offensive Post-Protests: After the pipeline’s completion and camp dispersal, Energy Transfer filed a massive RICO (racketeering) lawsuit, first in federal court (where it was dismissed) and then in state court, targeting Greenpeace as masterminds behind the protests.
  "The company claimed that the whole Standing Rock movement... was a conspiracy driven by Greenpeace, the Save the Whales guys."
  — Aline Brown, [04:53].
• Cody’s Involvement: Named in initial suits as a supposed ringleader, Cody was never officially served court papers and eventually dropped from the proceedings. The final case focused on Greenpeace. "In legal filings, Energy Transfer said they'd attempted to serve Cody at a home in South Dakota where his parents had lived briefly a decade ago."
  — Aline Brown, [35:28].
• Show Trial?: Despite thin evidence and years of reporting that contradicted Energy Transfer’s narrative, a North Dakota jury found in favor of the oil company, awarding damages sufficient to bankrupt Greenpeace USA. "The jury decided overwhelmingly in favor of the pipeline company's story. The total damages? Over $666 million..."
  — Aline Brown, [06:22].
• Narrative Control: The case is portrayed as an attempt at rewriting protest history—downplaying indigenous agency and recasting the movement as an external environmentalist conspiracy.

5. Legacy and Unanswered Questions

[40:44–44:23]

• Twisting the Story: The legal campaign appears less about recovering damages than punishing Greenpeace and rewriting the public memory of the movement. "Private security infiltrators creeping around... wasn't a part of the story they meant to tell. But there they were..."
  — Aline Brown, [43:18].
• Lasting Surveillance and Paranoia: Years after Standing Rock, activists are still haunted by feelings of being targeted, watched, or manipulated—for some, the lawsuits and surveillance never really end.
• Ongoing Uncertainty: The mystery of the Envelope Man symbolizes the confusion and chaos weaponized by security and legal teams to muddy waters and foster distrust inside social movements.
• Upcoming Reporting: The episode concludes with Brown contemplating whether Energy Transfer had uncovered actual Greenpeace wrongdoing, or whether the trial itself was just another act of manufactured deceit.

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• Cody Hall on the women protestors:
  "I'm sitting there... and I saw the women, and they were singing their death song. And in our culture, when you sing your death song, that means you are obviously not afraid to die."
  — [02:13]
• On viral escalation:
  "It opened the floodgates. And when those gates were open, craziness ensued."
  — Cody Hall, [17:13]
• On nonviolence and leadership:
  "I said, I don't want to know what you're doing... you start breaking down the chain of resistance. So don't tell me. I don't want to know."
  — Cody Hall, [14:08]
• On infiltration and paranoia:
  "Water protectors knew there were spies among them. There was a feeling in the air that something rare and important was happening, but that it could go off the rails at any moment."
  — Aline Brown, [27:41]
• On narrative manipulation:
  "Every conspiracy theory contains a grain of truth. In this case, a lot of money was pouring into Standing Rock, and it wasn't always clear from where. At the same time, the chaos and intensity... provided fertile ground for twisting and manipulating information."
  — Aline Brown, [43:18]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Standing Rock Protest Breaks Out: [01:36–04:43]
• The Red Warrior Camp & Cody’s Role: [12:19–16:46]
• Viral Moment—Dogs Attack Protestors: [15:51–16:57]
• Envelope Man Incident: [23:40–25:16]
• Legal Campaign Against Protestors: [32:04–36:10]
• TigerSwan & Surveillance Operations: [36:06–40:45]
• $666 Million Verdict and Reflections: [06:22, 43:18–44:23]

Final Reflections

This episode provides an intimate look into the Standing Rock protests, the sophisticated and often insidious measures taken by private and state security, and the legal tools big companies employ to silence dissent. At its heart is a meditation on storytelling—who gets to narrate history and whose voices are erased or rewritten. Through interviews, secret documents, and courtroom revelations, Aline Brown brings listeners face-to-face with a modern battle over truth, justice, and memory in the climate crisis frontline.

For the next installment, listeners are promised a deeper dive into the evidence against Greenpeace and whether Energy Transfer’s victory was rooted in fact—or fabrication.