| Kathleen — For decades, oil and gas companies have hijacked our legal system with Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs). The objective of these suits is not to win in court, but to scare powerful voices into silence. Corporations are trying to shut us up, shut us down, and worst of all strip us of our First Amendment right to free speech. We will NEVER stop speaking truth to power. Donate today to help Greenpeace USA keep corporations from silencing us and support all of our valuable work. In the past six years, Greenpeace USA has been SLAPPed for uplifting the Indigenous-led movement at Standing Rock and for publicly challenging the forestry practices of one of Canada's largest logging companies. These suits aren't just about us. They are an existential attack on the right to engage in advocacy work, organize, and show solidarity across movements. These corporations want to splinter environmental coalitions and scare smaller organizations and activists into silence. Fortunately, the corporations responsible for these suits may be losing their stranglehold on our federal court system. On September 15, Representative Jamie Raskin introduced a landmark bill to protect free speech from baseless legal attacks through anti-SLAPP legislation — and I showed up to testify at the congressional hearing. For the first time ever, Congress finally heard directly from us about this crisis. Here is part of my statement from the hearing: "Here we are, more than six years from when the first SLAPP was filed against us, still forced to invest time and resources into these legal battles that otherwise would have been used to protect communities and the environment from toxic pollution and the existential threat of climate change. While our window to fight the climate crisis continues to shrink, we have to win because the voices of those who protect our planet and our communities cannot be silenced." Fighting SLAPPs in court drains resources that should be used to fight the climate crisis during this critical moment. But Greenpeace USA knows that our ability to speak up and speak out is essential for protecting our communities and the planet. That is why we will continue to fight — not just for us, but for everyone who depends on the right to speak out for a livable planet. We won't stop until our right to speak truth to power is no longer under threat. We are hopeful that Congress will hear our call and pass the Lawsuits against Public Participation Protection Act of 2022. Help us keep up the pressure to ensure our collective rights to speak up against injustice. Donate to Greenpeace USA today. Thank you, Deepa Padmanabha
Deputy General Counsel, Greenpeace USA | 
