Catholic Workers: Lawbreakers Or Heroes In Minnesota Pipeline Fight?

In February 2019, four Catholic Worker activists were arrested for breaking into a fenced valve site in Itasca County, Minnesota, and attempting to shut off the valves on Enbridge's Line 3 and Line 4 tar sands oil pipelines. The group, calling themselves the Four Necessity Valve Turners, were charged with property damage and faced potential jail time and fines. This incident raises questions about the legality of their actions and the potential consequences they faced for their protest against the fossil fuel industry.

Catholic Workers charged with property damage

Four Catholic Workers, calling themselves the "Four Necessity Valve Turners", were charged with property damage after attempting to shut off valves on a pipeline in northern Minnesota. The group consisted of Allyson Polman, Brenna Cussen Anglada, Michele Naar Obed, and Daniel Yildirim. They were motivated by concerns about the impact of the fossil fuel industry on the climate and the planet.

The Incident

On February 4, 2019, the four activists broke into a fenced valve site containing shut-off valves for three Enbridge pipelines in Itasca County, Minnesota. After a period of prayer and offerings, they contacted Enbridge and warned the company of their intention to turn off the Line 4 pipeline. However, Enbridge remotely shut down the pipeline itself. The activists were arrested by the Itasca County Sheriff's deputies around 1:30 p.m.

Legal Proceedings

The "Four Necessity Valve Turners" appeared in the Itasca County District Court on Wednesday, February 6, 2019, and were charged with a felony count of aiding and abetting attempted damage to pipeline property and a fourth-degree misdemeanor for criminal property damage. The maximum sentence for the felony count is five years in prison or a $10,000 fine, while the misdemeanor carries a sentence of up to 90 days in prison or a $1,000 fine. All four activists were released on their own recognizance, and the next court date was set for February 19.

Motivations and Reactions

In a press release, the Catholic Worker group stated that they acted "in solidarity with the most vulnerable worldwide who suffer the greatest impact from climate change." They believed that it was their responsibility to prevent the expansion of the oil industry, as governments and regulators had failed to do so. This action was also inspired by the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, which called for urgent action to limit global warming.

Enbridge, the company operating the pipelines, criticized the activists' actions as "reckless and dangerous," arguing that they put people and the environment at risk. However, no oil was spilled during the incident.

Four Necessity Valve Turners

On February 4, 2019, four members of the Catholic Worker Movement were arrested for attempting to shut down the Enbridge Line 4 pipeline near Grand Rapids, Minnesota. The group called themselves "The Four Necessity Valve Turners", referencing the necessity defence for their actions. The activists informed Enbridge of their planned action, and the company shut down the pipeline remotely.

The four activists were:

• Allyson Polman – Catholic Worker, Denton, TX.
• Brenna Cussen Anglada – St. Isidore Catholic Worker Farm, Cuba City, WI.
• Michele Naar Obed – Hildegard House CW, Duluth, MN.
• Daniel Yildirim – Evening Star Farm, Viroqua, WI.

At the Itasca County District Court, the four were charged with a felony count of aiding and abetting attempted damage to pipeline property and a fourth-degree misdemeanour for criminal property damage. The maximum sentence for the felony count was five years in prison or a $10,000 fine, and for the misdemeanour, 90 days in prison or a $1,000 fine.

The Four Necessity Valve Turners were motivated by the belief that they needed to take personal responsibility for preventing the expansion of the oil industry, due to governments' and regulators' failure to address the climate crisis. They also cited the "irreversible damage" being done to the planet by the fossil fuel industry.

The Valve Turners livestreamed their action on Facebook, but the video was later removed. They said that Enbridge remotely shut down one of the valves they targeted. In a statement, Enbridge called the group's actions "reckless and dangerous", saying that they put themselves, first responders, neighbouring communities and landowners at risk.

The Four Necessity Valve Turners were part of a larger group of environmental activists known as the Valve Turners, who take direct action against the fossil fuel industry by illegally turning emergency shut-off valves to close oil pipelines. Valve Turners have sought to use the necessity defence in court, arguing that they were obligated to act due to the imminent threat of climate change.

Enbridge's statement

In a statement provided to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Enbridge said:

> The actions taken to trespass on our facility and tamper with energy infrastructure were reckless and dangerous. The people involved claimed to be protecting the environment, but they did the opposite. Their actions put themselves, first responders, neighbouring communities and landowners at risk. While we respect the rights of individuals to safely express their views on the energy we all use, we take these matters very seriously and support the prosecution of all those involved.

In a video posted by the Valve Turners, Enbridge is quoted as saying:

> [The] reckless and dangerous [actions taken by the Valve Turners] did not result in the release of any product.

Catholic Worker movement's statement

Catholic Worker Movement Statement

We, the Catholic Worker Movement, are committed to standing up for social and environmental justice, even if it means breaking the law. We believe that the imminent and irreversible damage being done to our planet by the fossil fuel industry is a moral issue that requires urgent and unprecedented action. That is why, on February 4, 2019, four of our members, calling themselves the "Four Necessity Valve Turners," took it upon themselves to shut down Enbridge's Line 3 and Line 4 tar sands oil pipelines in northern Minnesota.

Our members, Allyson Polman, Brenna Cussen Anglada, Michele Naar Obed, and Daniel Yildirim, broke into a fenced valve site and attempted to turn off the emergency shut-off valves for two pipelines. They did so non-violently, after contacting Enbridge and offering the company the opportunity to shut the valves themselves. This was an act of civil disobedience, motivated by our faith and our commitment to protecting the most vulnerable worldwide who suffer the greatest impacts of climate change.

We recognize that our actions may be considered illegal and that there are consequences for breaking the law. However, we believe that dramatic times call for dramatic responses, and we are willing to accept those consequences because we feel that governments and regulators have failed to address the climate crisis. We are guided by our faith and our conviction that it is our duty to act with responsibility and integrity, even if it means risking our own liberty.

We stand in solidarity with indigenous communities and all those who are on the front lines of the fight against climate change. We believe that the expansion of the oil industry threatens their land, their water, and their way of life. We are committed to continuing our work to raise awareness, build alliances, and take action to address the climate crisis and create a more just and sustainable world for all.

Addendum

It is worth noting that the Catholic Worker Movement is a decentralized network of houses of hospitality and farms whose members usually live in community, practice the works of mercy, and protest violence and injustice. The movement was started by Dorothy Day in the 1930s and has a rich tradition of assisting underprivileged people through soup kitchens, hospitality, and shelters, as well as resisting systems of oppression.

Previous cases of pipeline protests

In 2016, the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, which was set to be built under the Missouri River, was met with resistance from the Standing Rock Sioux tribe. The pipeline was not being built directly on the Standing Rock Sioux land, but the reservation relied on the river for its water supply. There were also concerns that the construction would ruin sacred burial grounds, and that the federal government did not properly consult with the tribe, as required by federal law and native treaties. This sparked legal battles and peaceful protests at and around the construction site.

The conflict between water protectors and law enforcement escalated through the summer and fall of 2016. In September, construction workers bulldozed a section of privately owned land that the tribe had claimed as sacred ground. When protesters entered the area, security workers used attack dogs, which bit at least six demonstrators and one horse. In October, militarized police cleared an encampment in the pipeline's path. In November, police used tear gas and water cannons on protesters in freezing weather.

By October 2016, there had been over 140 arrests. Some protesters reported what they considered harsh and unusual treatment, including being strip-searched and made to "squat and cough". Actress Shailene Woodley, who was arrested in October 2016, said: "Never did it cross my mind that while trying to protect clean water, trying to ensure a future where our children have access to an element essential for human survival, would I be strip-searched."

In December 2016, it was reported that the company building the pipeline, Dakota Access LLC, had hired the firm TigerSwan to provide security during the protest. Internal documents later revealed a close collaboration between the pipeline company and local, state, and federal law enforcement as they carried out "military-style counterterrorism measures" to suppress the protesters.

In February 2017, the protest site was cleared. Although many left voluntarily, ten people were arrested. The following day, National Guard and law enforcement officers evicted the remaining protesters, and 33 people were arrested.

In March 2020, a federal judge sided with the tribe and ordered the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to conduct a full environmental impact statement. In July 2020, a district court judge ruled that the pipeline must be shut down while the environmental review took place. However, in August, a U.S. appeals court allowed the pipeline to stay open, saying the lower-court judge "did not make the findings necessary for injunctive relief".

In February 2019, four Catholic Workers were arrested for shutting off a valve on the Enbridge Line 3 and Line 4 tar sands oil pipelines in Itasca County, Minnesota. The activists, who called themselves the "Four Necessity Valve Turners", said they wanted to defend life against the fossil fuel industry, which was causing "imminent and irreversible damage". They were charged with two misdemeanours – one for trespassing and one for property destruction. At their arraignment hearing, they were each charged with a felony count of aiding and abetting attempted damage to pipeline property, and a fourth-degree misdemeanour for criminal property damage.

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