Ep. 384: When Nonprofits Break the Law

Regular listeners might remember that earlier this year, a North Dakota jury awarded $667 million to Energy Transfer, the company building the Dakota Access Pipeline, for damages caused by Greenpeace. Because that poses an existential threat to the environmentalist activism group, Greenpeace has vowed to appeal pending final court action, and supporters published a mass open letter of 400 fellow activist groups and a large number of individual supporters, including (of course) prominent celebrities. But the case and the letter raise more fundamental questions about the activities of tax-exempt groups; namely, is it proper for nonprofits to advocate for, endorse groups that, and in some cases, outright engage in lawbreaking?  Joining us to discuss this is our colleague Robert Stilson. Greenpeace, nonprofits, and illegal protestsInfluenceWatch Podcast #361: Justice for GreenpeaceMegaphone philanthropy