In April 2021, the company behind the Dakota Access Pipeline started trying to force Unicorn Riot to hand over sensitive and privileged materials developed in the process of covering the controversial fracked oil pipeline and the massive, historic Indigenous-led resistance against it. (See our full-length documentary, Black Snake Killaz [2017], DAPL category, and Standing Rock and DAPL content archives for dozens of original stories.)
More than a year ago, in May 2024, Unicorn Riot won a strong ruling from the Minnesota Court of Appeals, rejecting the oil company Energy Transfer LP’s attempt to obtain newsgathering materials through a subpoena — the court affirmed that the Watergate era MFFIA “applies despite alleged unlawful conduct, exceptions must apply before district courts can order privilege logs from third parties.” The Minnesota Supreme Court decided to accept another appeal from Energy Transfer, which was argued in St. Paul in December 2024.
The court recognized Unicorn Riot’s newsgathering activities were privileged under the MFFIA: “We hold that the plain language of the MFFIA protects Unicorn Riot’s newsgathering activities during the Standing Rock Protests. Nothing in the statutory text leads us to believe that the privileged information that Unicorn Riot collected during the Standing Rock Protests should be excepted from the prohibition on disclosure under the MFFIA.”
“The Court’s decision is a welcome reminder that we value independent journalism in Minnesota,” said Teresa Nelson, legal director of the ACLU-MN, in a statement. “This win is particularly important as large corporations increasingly attempt to intimidate reporters through litigation and in the face of unprecedented attacks on the freedom of the press by the Trump administration and other government officials.”
Full article with all of the court documents, more information and some specific thank yous: Minnesota Supreme Court Rules on Unicorn Riot DAPL Subpoena
