Ten activists were arrested on Tuesday for shutting down tar-sands oil pipelines. Among them was Deia Schlosberg, producer of the documentary How to Let Go of the World and Love All the Things Climate Can’t Change.
Schlosberg reportedly faces three felony conspiracy charges. If convicted, she could be sentenced to 45 years in prison. To put that in perspective:
Edward Snowden @Snowden: This reporter is being prosecuted for covering the North Dakota oil protests. For reference, I face a mere 30 years.
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Neil Young, Mark Ruffalo, and other celebrities called for the charges to be dropped on Thursday, arguing that Schlosberg was not participating in the protest but documenting the event as a filmmaker. That’s right, folks: In the eyes of the legal system, spilling the NSA’s secrets is less reprehensible than doing a journalist’s job.
— source grist.org