Dear fellow UUs,

Imagine a large oil company planning to drastically expand their environmentally destructive efforts in Ohio. To protect our environment we would be mobilizing protests to stop it. Now, imagine that every protestor risked a $1000 fine and the threat of a 5 year prison sentence if they decided to show up. On top of that if UUJO were to support such efforts, the risk of a $100,000 fine. Would you want to go protest? Would you feel like your right to free speech was squashed?

As you may know, last week, Governor DeWine signed SB33 which will do just that in Ohio. It is designed to chill protests on the property of “critical infrastructure” sites such as a pipeline, drilling well, utility company facility or grounds etc…

In an effort to shed light on the impact of SB33, we are exploring the option of putting together a United Nations Human Rights Tribunal. As a preliminary step, we are compiling a list of people who would be willing to testify/share their story (via Zoom).

Do you (or does someone you know in Ohio) have a story to share about going to Standing Rock and being fined, arrested or experiencing other legal ramifications? Fill in our form here.

Standing Rock is top of mind, but we suspect there may be other experiences to share. We would like to get as many short descriptions as we can to gauge interest and see what stories are out there so we can decide whether to move forward with the tribunal.

Submitted on behalf of Kristen Beiress, UUJO Community Organizer