Action Resource Page for Tim DeChristopher’s Trial: September 13, 2010

Urgent Update:

Tim’s Trial has been delayed once more: the new date is September 13. If you would like to receive the most up-to-date information, you can sign up for our Climate Trial Email Updates.

The Story

A Call to Action

The Plan

Take Action

Tim after the auction

In December 2008, Tim DeChristopher disrupted an oil and gas auction to allay further climate change. By registering as a bidder, Tim drove up prices on many parcels and eventually won over a million dollars worth of oil leases before federal agents removed him from the room. The auction was disrupted so effectively that no one knew what to do for a while, and the leases remained in suspension. Later, a judge ruled that the process had been corrupt all along (courtesy of the outgoing Bush administration) and shortly thereafter, Secretary Salazar formally nullified the whole process, erasing the auction results completely. It was not until April 1st that two felonies were formally filed against Tim: one for violating the “Offshore Oil and Gas Leasing Act,” and one for making false statements to the government (by filling out the form to go into the auction). Now he faces trial and ten years in prison. Tim pleaded not guilty because he, his lawyers, and millions of other people recognize that he was preventing a greater crime from occurring–he was preventing climate catastrophe. However, federal prosecutors filed a motion to keep him from using the threat of climate change in his defense, and after a contentious battle, granted the prosecution the right to limit his defense. They silenced his defense team, because they feared the potential for the jury to agree with the urgent need to allay climate change, and acquit him; this is where much of the outrage surrounding the trial arises.

We are living at the edge of climate crisis. The people know it, but the government doesn’t. Our legislature failed us on the ACES bill, our executive failed us in Copenhagen, and now our judiciary is on the wrong side of justice. And they have all failed us for the same reasons: They support big business over the planet.

This is nothing new–it has happened before and it will happen again. That’s why the fourth branch of government–the people–have to rise up and put corporations, corruption and climate change–not the planet–on trial.

This summer, join thousands of activists from around the country for a mass convergence around Tim’s trial. While Tim is inside being tried, we will be outside, engaging in direct actions to take our climate back from big business.

It’s time for the people to defend what the lawyers can’t.

This letter was co-written by five leaders of social and environmental justice. All recognize the trial of Tim DeChristopher to be a turning point in the climate movement: Dr. James Hansen, author of Storms of my Grandchildren, and who is regarded as the world’s leading climatologist Naomi Klein, author of #1 international bestseller The Shock Doctrine Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org and author of The End Of Nature and Eaarth Robert Redford, actor, director, environmental activist, and founder of The Sundance Institute Terry Tempest Williams, author of The Open Space of Democracy

Dear Friends, A few months back, you likely heard about a vitally important court case involving the prosecution of a principled young environmental activist named Tim DeChristopher. After several delays, that trial is back on and we are asking for your support on its openings days: September 13-15. Why is this trial so important to the fight against catastrophic climate change, even in light of unfolding ecological disasters like the BP oil spill? As we all know, this fight takes many forms: huge global days of action, giant international conferences like the one that failed in Copenhagen, small gestures in the homes of countless people. But there are a few signal moments, and one will come next month, when the federal government puts Tim DeChristopher on trial in Salt Lake City. Tim—“Bidder 70”—pulled off one of the most creative protests against our runaway energy policy in years: he bid for the oil and gas leases on several parcels of federal land even though he had no money to pay for them, thus upending the auction. The government calls that “violating the Federal Onshore Oil and Gas Leasing Reform Act” and thinks he should spend ten years in jail for the crime; we call it a noble act, a profound gesture made on behalf of all of us and of the future. Tim’s action drew national attention to the fact that the Bush Administration spent its dying days in office handing out a last round of favors to the oil and gas industry. After investigating irregularities in the auction, the Obama Administration took many of the leases off the table, with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar criticizing the process as “a headlong rush.” And yet that same Administration is choosing to prosecute the young man who blew the whistle on this corrupt process. We cannot let this stand. When Tim disrupted the auction, he did so in the fine tradition of non-violent civil disobedience that changed so many unjust laws in this country’s past. Tim’s upcoming trial is an occasion to raise the alarm once more about the peril our planet faces. The situation is still fluid—the trial date has just been reset, and local supporters are making plans for how to mark the three-day proceedings. But they are asking people around the country to flood into Salt Lake City in September. If you come, there will be ample opportunity for both legal protest and civil disobedience. For example: …Click here to read the rest of the letter

The prosecutor wrote about Tim’s legal defense of preventing climate chaos:

“If you want to use that argument, you should do it in the public sphere, not in the courtroom.”

Therefore, we will hold the real trial outside, where The People will testify about the necessity to fight climate change in the face of a system that values short-term financial profits about the long-term well-being of all life on this planet.

Tim’s trial was originally scheduled for March, then delayed till June, and has been delayed yet again to September. It will be held in downtown Salt Lake City, and we are organizing many opportunities for those who wish to defend a livable future to do so on a variety of levels. There will be giant puppets, concerts, art, demonstrations, speakers, wild street theater, and more. If you have any more ideas for creative actions, street theater or stunts, contact us at climatetrial@peacefuluprising.org and we’ll be in touch.

For those who can’t make it to Salt Lake City, there will also be solidarity actions held across the country. Continue reading below to find out more, or go directly to our Climate Trial Solidarity Map to find an action near you.

From 2009-04-28 Tim’s Arraignment Rally – We Are All Bidder 70

Take Action

Transportation & Lodging

Need a place to stay during your visit? Do you need a ride?
Can you provide transportation or lodging to others?

Transportation:

Get on the bus and get out here! We have groups chartering buses, taking trains and ride sharing from every corner of the United States.

Get help finding transportation and housing

Also, try these links:

Amtrak – Greyhound – Craigslist RideShare – Charter A Bus – Zimride

Lodging:

We are working to get a permit for a tent city, and we will keep you posted on our progress. If you want to stay inside and need a place, sign up here.

If you live in Salt Lake and can offer a couch or room,
sign up here to volunteer your living space for guests, or if you can help with lodging in other ways.

Questions?

Want to know more?

The trial and its implications.

What is at stake, and why this is so important.

Have other questions?

Please contact Ashley Sanders (sanders.ashley (at) gmail dot com, 801-916-6307)
or Ashley Anderson (c.ashley.anderson (at) gmail dot com) and we will answer them!

Endorsements

Naomi Klein

Bill McKibben

James Hansen

Peaceful Uprising

The Yes Men

Democracy Unlimited