A coalition of 10 Senate Republicans is introducing legislation that it says will protect critical components of American energy infrastructure, such as pipelines, from attacks conducted by radical environmentalists, the Washington Free Beacon has learned.
The Safe and Secure Transportation of American Energy Act—authored by Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) and cosponsored by nine fellow Republicans on the Senate Commerce Committee—would expand criminal penalties to cover vandalizing, tampering with, or disrupting the operations or construction of a pipeline. While current laws on the books already criminalize eco-terrorism and the destruction of infrastructure, the senators argued those laws don't have enough teeth when it comes to acts disrupting the operation or construction of a pipeline.
"The number of targeted, disruptive activities against vital oil and gas pipelines is growing," Cruz said in a statement. "These disruptions, whether during construction or operation, are not just inconveniences—they put people's lives at risk and are direct assaults on our economy and American energy independence. I am proud to spearhead legislation to jail eco-terrorists who try to shut down pipelines and prevent the movement of American energy."
"Ironically, when eco-terrorists take extreme measures like valve-turning, they actually risk damaging the environment, which is exactly what pipeline operators are working to avoid. This legislation would ensure these highly disruptive acts now meet the thresholds for criminal penalties," added Cruz, the ranking member of the Commerce Committee.
In recent years, climate activists have embraced increasingly drastic actions—gluing themselves to the U.S. Capitol, shutting down traffic in major cities, attempting to destroy priceless works of art—in their efforts to force society away from fossil fuels.
But the 2021 book How to Blow Up a Pipeline—and an accompanying film released to theaters last year—popularized an even more radical idea: destroying the energy infrastructure that allows modern civilization to flourish.
"The film has potential to inspire threat actors to target oil and gas infrastructure with explosives or other destructive devices," the FBI warned in an April 2023 bulletin that it blasted out to law enforcement agencies tasked with protecting infrastructure nationwide, Rolling Stone reported. Nearly two dozen federal and state police entities, and at least one entity in Canada, crafted their own warnings in response to the film.
That hasn't stopped its producers from continuing to promote their film and encourage viewers to "take action." The film's website includes a highly detailed map of U.S. oil and gas pipeline infrastructure, imploring concerned citizens to "act outside of the system." The book and film tell the story of a group of young adults who join forces to blow up a pipeline in Texas and glamorize such actions in the face of catastrophic "global heating."
Prior to its theatrical release, in March 2023, the film How to Blow Up a Pipeline was screened at Yale University and at Harvard University. At the Harvard screening, director Daniel Goldhaber and editor Daniel Garber were in attendance. In April of this year, the New York Academy of Medicine screened the film, while Bard College hosted its own screening of the film as part of its "Worldwide Climate and Justice Education Week." The University of Washington, Emerson College, Cornell University, and the College of the Canyons have also hosted screenings.
Cruz said Friday that his legislation is needed in light of how "Hollywood radicals celebrate and encourage eco-terrorism through films like 'How to Blow Up a Pipeline.'" He also noted that radical activists who have disrupted the operations of energy infrastructure have increasingly been cleared of criminal wrongdoing.
A judge in 2018 dismissed charges against three environmental activists who two years earlier attempted to shut down two Minnesota oil pipelines by turning their emergency valves. Also in 2018, a Boston judge cleared 13 activists—including former vice president Al Gore's daughter Karenna Gore—of criminal charges after they blocked construction of a natural gas pipeline.
The Washington Supreme Court in 2019 cleared activist Ken Ward, who has publicly advocated for protest actions on pipelines. "With catastrophic climate change looming, it is time for the people to be able to decide who the real criminals are: the greedy corporate profiteers poisoning the water and destroying the planet or the regular people who are willing to stand up to defend our communities," Ward's lawyer, Lauren Regan, said.
And in 2021, more than 200 protesters were arrested and booked by the Northern Lights Task Force, a coalition of multiple Minnesota law enforcement agencies, in connection with a protest on the Line 3 pipeline transporting Canadian crude oil into the United States. A judge last year summarily dismissed charges against three of the protest's leaders.
Defendants in such cases often assert the "necessity defense" for their actions, saying they are acting for the sake of preventing cataclysmic climate change.
"America's energy industry is critical to our national security, yet there is little recourse for punishing eco-terrorists who attempt to tamper with or disrupt pipeline construction or operations," said Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R., Wyo.). "We can no longer allow far-left extremists to get a pass for their blatant disregard for the safety and well-being of innocent Americans which is why I am partnering with Senator Cruz to ensure these crimes do not go unpunished."
"About ninety percent of America's transportation sector is reliant on oil, and pipeline disruptions pose a major threat to America's energy security," added Sen. Todd Young (R., Ind.). "Our legislation takes much-needed steps to better protect our critical infrastructure and deter attacks on America's pipelines."
In addition to Cruz, Lummis, and Young, Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R., Tenn.), Shelley Moore Capito (R., W.Va.), Deb Fischer (R., Neb.), Jerry Moran (R., Kan.), Dan Sullivan (R., Alaska), Ted Budd (R., N.C.), and Roger Wicker (R., Miss.) were also listed as cosponsors of Cruz's Safe and Secure Transportation of American Energy Act.