Pipeline protesters are starting to lay down a few face cards in the wake of the much-lampooned tree protest, resorting to more direct means of getting their point across over at the Virginians Against Pipelines group on Facebook.
More to the point, these so-called “peaceful” protesters are showing just how much they really are Green Antifa in all their malevolent glory — threatening to switch over their resistance to the clean-energy pipeline from direct action to violent terrorism:
For those of you not familiar with these tactics, one need only refer back to the strategies of direct action employed by groups such as Greenpeace and the Earth Liberation Front.
The eco-terrorist organization Earth First! began adopting the strategy of “tree spiking” in the mid-1980s with the intention of harming loggers who were either going about their daily jobs cutting down a renewable resource, or clearing arable land for farmers to feed the hungry (or in this instance, building a clean energy pipeline).
Just to be clear about the definitions? Look no further than the Federal Bureau of Investigations:
The FBI defines eco-terrorism as the use or threatened use of violence of a criminal nature against innocent victims or property by an environmentally-oriented, subnational group for environmental-political reasons, or aimed at an audience beyond the target, often of a symbolic nature.
It is safe to say that pipeline protesters are now dangerously flirting with (and even seriously advocating for) violent terrorist operations against soft targets — including workers along the pipeline path, loggers, and others deemed insufficiently outraged over the pipeline project.
What is more interesting is the too-clever-by-half cheerleading from those on the anti-pipeline page, counselling that such activity is dangerous… but hey fellas, do what you want:
Of course, they are the victims. Their victims, alternatively, are the true terrorists — the folks building the pipeline, hauling off the trees, and creating the low-cost energy infrastructure Virginians deserve…
If you really want to see just how nasty and violent a tactic such as “tree spiking” truly is, go look at the 1990 Washington Post article describing the incident in full.
Guess who cheers them on? That’s right — Russia Today.
While anti-logging activists are often branded by the mainstream media and the US justice system as “eco-terrorists,” research suggests the term was developed in the 1970s by PR firms in order to demonize those trying to stop the logging industry from cutting down America’s ancient forests.
The links between eco-terrorists, Green Antifa, and the canopy of environmentalist groups with Russian-backed loans and cash has been well documented by members of the U.S. House of Representatives. The Sierra Club and the League of Conservation Voters — both heavy players in Virginia’s gubernatorial election in 2017 — threw millions of dollars in the direction of Democratic governor Ralph Northam. It was an investment, after all… when should they expect their return?
Goes to show that Russian influence in America is just fine… so long as Antifa benefits from it — even if it extends to terrorism.
Hopefully the FBI is looking into these threats seriously. Meanwhile, Virginians have to ask themselves — if the Russian government really is funding these eco-terrorists, and if these same eco-terrorists are so bold and brazen as to post their threats online?
How soon will it be before one of them chooses (or is forced) to act at the behest of their financiers? Who’s husband will not be coming home because someone spiked a tree? Which firefighter will become a victim because eco-terrorists use arson in order to stop or slow a project? Which employee should be concerned for the safety of their families because a few agitators have opted for violence over process — or simply refuse to submit to a democratically-managed result?
We know the answer to this. The question is whether someone has to get hurt (or worse) before anyone takes Green Antifa at their word?
