The environmental group Greenpeace has been ordered by a North Dakota jury to pay more than $660 million in connection with protests against the Dakota Access oil pipeline’s construction.

Dallas-based Energy Transfer and subsidiary Dakota Access accused Netherlands-based Greenpeace International, Greenpeace USA and funding arm Greenpeace Fund Inc. of defamation, trespass, nuisance, civil conspiracy and other acts. 

Greenpeace USA was found liable for all counts, while the others were found liable for some. The damages owed will be spread out in different amounts over the three entities.

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In a news release, Greenpeace called the lawsuit “meritless.” 

“This case should alarm everyone, no matter their political inclinations,” said Sushma Raman, interim executive director Greenpeace Inc, Greenpeace Fund. “It’s part of a renewed push by corporations to weaponize our courts to silence dissent. We should all be concerned about the future of the First Amendment, and lawsuits like this aimed at destroying our rights to peaceful protest and free speech.”

Members of Greenpeace press conference next to a giant art installation called ‘Perpetual Plastic Machine’ ahead of Global Plastic Treaty talks on Saturday, May 27, 2023, in Paris.  (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

Greenpeace said earlier that a large award to the pipeline company would threaten to bankrupt the organization. After the verdict, Deepa Padmanabha, Greenpeace’s senior legal adviser, said the group’s work “is never going to stop.”

“That’s the really important message today, and we’re just walking out and we’re going to get together and figure out what our next steps are,” she said outside the courthouse. 

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In this Dec. 1, 2016 file photo, the Oceti Sakowin camp where people gathered to protest the Dakota Access oil pipeline stands in the background as children sled down a hill in Cannon Ball, N.D.   (AP Photo/David Goldman)

The organization said it plans to appeal the decision. 

Energy Transfer called Wednesday’s verdict a “win” for “Americans who understand the difference between the right to free speech and breaking the law.”

“While we are pleased that Greenpeace has been held accountable for their actions against us, this win is really for the people of Mandan and throughout North Dakota who had to live through the daily harassment and disruptions caused by the protesters who were funded and trained by Greenpeace,” the company said in a statement to The Associated Press.

Protestors demonstrating against the expansion of the Dakota Access Pipeline wade in cold creek waters confronting local police, near Cannon Ball, N.D., Nov. 2, 2016.  (AP Photo/John L. Mone)

The company said the lawsuit wasn’t about free speech, but instead, about protestors not following the law. 

The case stems from protests in 2016 and 2017 against the multi-state Dakota Access oil pipeline. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe opposed the project, saying it posed a risk to its water supply and imposed harm on their land. 

Thousands of protesters camped for months near the Standing Rock Reservation, where the pipeline crosses underneath the Missouri River. 

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The pipeline transports about 5% of the United States’ daily oil production. It started transporting oil in mid-2017.

Free speech and environmental advocates have criticized the trial, saying the lawsuit was about silencing protest and meant to bankrupt opponents. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.