WEBVTT

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You ready? I’m ready.

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I’m Tim DeChristopher. I’m a 27 year old
economic student at the University of Utah,

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and earlier today I was indicted on a couple
of charges by the US attorney’s office.

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On December 19th, 2008,

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I took what I considered to be an ethical,
necessary and direct action to protect our planet,

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our democracy and my fellow human beings.
My action stopped

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what I believe was an illegal and
certainly unethical auction.

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My motivations to act against this auction came from the exploitation
of public lands, the lack of a transparent and participatory government

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and the imminent danger of climate change.

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The bureau of land management
held a controversial auction,

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Friday to sell oil an gas
drilling rights nearly,

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a 150,000 acres of wilderness in Southern
Utah. The Bush administration has decided

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to open up vast swarms of wilderness for
oil and gas extraction right next to

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the pristine natural beauty of
places like Arches National Park.

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The sale had been strongly opposed
by many environmental groups.

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One student attempted to block the
sale by disrupting the auction itself.

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It’s really hard for me to not think about
climate change with anything that we’re doing.

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It’s this big weight that our
generation is bearing on our shoulders

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and that it’s like something chasing as
if it’s getting closer all the time.

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We’ve always been told that things
are just beyond our control

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and the corporations have all the power,
and we don’t often get to be reminded

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that we’re citizens of what was once the greatest
democracy on the planet and that we’re human beings

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with the power to inspire
others to our actions.

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I’d already been following
this auction for a while

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and saw that… that it
had all these problems.

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And I got down there

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and there was just this like palpable feeling of
helplessness there. And I decided I had to get in.

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And 4.25, and 4.5 and
4.75 and a $5 and 5.5…

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Instead of getting dragged out, they said, \"Are you here for the auction.\" and I said,
\"Yes, I am,\" and they said, \"Are you here to be a bidder,\" and I said, \"Well, yes, I am.\"

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2.25 and back in now to 2.5. I saw right away
that… that bid card that they’d given me,

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I could really disrupt this process.
I had all these visions of my future

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and… and all the catastrophic effects of
climate change. But if I start to bid on this,

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there’s a decent chance
I could go to prison.

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But I live with that and thought, \"Well,
yeah,\" I’m excited but I could live with it.

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But knowing that I had a chance right
in front of me to do something about it

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and I didn’t take it because I was afraid
of the consequences, and I thought no,

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I couldn’t live with that.
3 cents(ph), and 4, and 5.

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And I finally took that step in and jumped
all the way in and started winning parcels,

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started winning all the parcels.
(inaudible) at $50.

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Sold $50 to bidder number 70.
Who is 70? When I did that,

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uh… really my head was totally clear,
uh… I felt this real feeling of calm

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come over me and… and that conflict that I was dealing with
was gone. What(ph) are you gonna tell us? What’s your name?

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An environmentalist through
a controversial oil

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and gas lease auction into turmoil today. Well,
Tim DeChristopher says he’s willing to go to jail

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and it’s possible that’s where he’ll wind up. A
college student may face federal criminal charges

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for disrupting that
auction with bogus bids.

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Actually winning a dozen bids in a row worth
nearly $2 million, and some of the leases he won

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could go out for bid again, after
an Obama administration review.

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Why did you do it? Umm… I am trying to
resist the sale in any way that I could.

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When I heard what Tim had done, it was just like, yes. All
the things we’ve been trying for so long to do, Tim exposed,

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umm… with a gesture of… of one battle.
I think that

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I represented all the people who
want to see southern Utah protected,

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umm… who want to see oil stay in the ground so that
we can have a chance for a little more future.

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Tim saw something terribly wrong, and because
of his moral commitment to the land,

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he put forth what amounts to a
peaceful protest to try to stop it.

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I think it’s fair to say
you were unrepentant.

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Yes, I… I think that would be fair to say.

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[music]

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What Tim did was to demonstrate
very convincingly that the process

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that had been part of the agency I had
administered, had gotten out of whack.

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That BLM auction included areas
concentrated around Moab

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and the national parks there. A lot of the parcels, especially,
the ones that I won were right around Arches National Park

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and canyon lands kind of
that classic Red Rock area.

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Congress created to the BLM
to serve a multiple use,

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so there’s this inherent tension
between having conservation ends

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and having development ends.
The Bush administration

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had chosen to focus in on only one
purpose and that was energy generation.

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The November lease sale
was postponed by BLM

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so that a whole bunch of additional parcels
could be added at the last minute.

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And we are having leases close
to and in very sensitive areas

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that people were concerned about.

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And there were lands that really contained
some of the last great places on earth.

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And they want to go into this natural
area and pollute the whole land

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for the short term profits
for corporations.

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There’s always political
pressures, I have been in meetings

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with the oil and gas companies that have come out and, you
know, just like (inaudible) said, we own the White House

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and you will do it our way.

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In its last weeks in office, the Bush administration
rushed ahead to sell oil and gas leases

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at the doorstep, some of our nation’s most
treasured landscapes, particularly, in Utah.

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Because of the need to review these parcels
and because of their proximity to landscapes

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of national significance. I have directed the
Bureau of Land Management not to accept the bids

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on the 77 parcels.

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[music]

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To see this land uh… in this view,

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there’s no way that I could ever regret what I did to… to
see that the land looks like that it’s this beautiful.

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And to know, it’s going to keep looking like
this, it’s still going to look this way

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and… and there’s not going to be uh… an oil rig
in the way, there’s not going to be a road

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cut right through the middle of it. That’s really re
affirming, umm… and I think really justifies my actions.

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[music]

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And when everyone said that sentiment without
action is the room (inaudible) the soul.

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When I was going all out in that
auction, my action was in line with

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my sentiment and it was…
it was an amazing feeling.

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[music]

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[sil.]

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I wanna thank you all for

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this warm support tonight and all the
support I have got over the last month.

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Uh… It’s really been
overwhelming and emotional

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for me to see so many people who stand
in solidarity what I… what I did.

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And it’s been encouraging it’s
given me more hope for my future

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that I’ve had in a long time. About a year ago,
I had an experience with a woman Terry Root.

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She was one of the scientists on the IPCC

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and… and I spoke to her after
presentation that she gave here in Utah.

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And I asked her about some of the finings that she presented and
it looked like, it was some of the numbers that she was giving

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that the IPCC couldn’t
find any possible scenario

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in which we avoided all the worst case
uh… consequences of climate change.

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And she said, \"Yeah, that’s right.\" And
I said, \"So what am I missing here,\"

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and you said, \"You’re not missing a thing.\"

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That’s right. You said there were things that we could have done in the ‘80s and
things we could have done in the ‘90s but… Yup. I really think it’s too late.

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Um-hmm. I remember you… you
put your hand on my shoulder

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and you said, \"I’m sorry my generation failed
yours.\" I remember that, I do, I remember that.

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Yeah. Yeah, and we did, we have.

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To have a Nobel Prize winner say that it was
too late for me to protect my own future.

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Uh… It shook me to the core. Uh…
I went outside the… the hotel

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and I cried. Uh… I mourned
for my own future

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I mourned for the future of all of us.
And it blew me away umm… I was…

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I was totally shattered by that.
Sorry, I am sorry.

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No, but that was… that was good. I mean
it… it woke me up… it made me, umm…

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you know, it’s sank in, it finally sank in all
the way of… of how serious this was. Umm…

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It’s very serious. But afterwards
what… what kept me going

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was the idea that there was still a chance, and that
maybe if… if none of the political plan’s on the table,

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if Barack Obama’s plan is not good enough,
then we’ll have to find another way.

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We’ll have to break out of the
political system that we’re in

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and find a new path forward. And… and
that’s really the task before us.

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Sorry, I…

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I get a little emotional, uh…

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(inaudible).

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By its very nature, an act of civil
disobedience is breaking the law.

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But it focuses the societies consciousness

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on something that the protestors

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says is wrong and has to be corrected.

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Tim struck me as a leader of his generation

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that was renewing something that had
been absent in that civil disobedience.

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And we’ve gotten to this point where this is our
last chance. And after I interviewed him I was

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quite clear that I wanted to defend him. When
we look at the consequences of global warming

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and those disastrous effects that
we’re on track for right now,

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there’s nothing else that’s even
in the same league as that,

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uh… there’s nothing else that can compare.
It’s really the prime moral imperative

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for… for our generation.

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It’s worth remembering that this plant,
for 103 years has been burning coal.

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And it was last Thursday, that Nancy
(inaudible) and Harriet Reed(ph)

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decided maybe you could get switched to natural
gas. I don’t think that was just a coincidence.

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Bill McKibben has been a big influence
on me in the past few years

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and… and he talks about it’s how we have to approach
this movement of trying to stop global warming,

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that this is the most loving
stance that we can have towards

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the people around us is to fight for them. Green
jobs, now. Green jobs, now. Green jobs, now.

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Indictment alleges that Christopher
organized and participated

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in a scheme to defeat provisions
of the federal onshore oil

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and gas leasing reform act.

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The potential penalty for the charge our economy(ph)
indictment is up to five years in federal prison,

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and a fine of $500,000. The
potential penalty for the charge

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in count two indictment is up to five years in prison and
a $250,000 fine. How can we have a new administration,

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new secretary of interior, who seems very
supportive of Tim’s view on climate change,

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and yet he still was indicted.

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This is the formal charges against
me United States of America

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versus Tim DeChristopher.

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For Mr. Salazar it was a no-win situation, if he chose
to prosecute he was going to alienate environmentalist,

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if you chose not to prosecute then the energy
industry and their very large mass media

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operation would condemn
him for not going after

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uh… law breakers like Mr. DeChristopher.

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All right, guys.

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If you look at the facts of science

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and if you look at the political situation,
right now, it’s hard to not feel despair.

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[sil.]

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But if you look at the… the movement of people who
are… are starting to come together and fight back,

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you can’t help but have a lot of hope.

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Hope not just that we’re going
to survive but were gonna

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uh… completely overhaul our system
and… and create a more adjusted world.

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I think a lot of what is lacking is just,

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the acknowledgment that this is human lives at stake,
massive amounts of human lives and human well being.

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Play too often, it’s framed as
being about the polar bears,

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there was a… a headline in…
in the Salt Lake Tribune

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a couple of weeks ago umm…
that said, uh… \"Bidder 70\"

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I did it to save the planet. I never said that, and
I never would because it’s not about the fuck(ph)

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it’s not about the planet. You know,
it’s about saving human lives.

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[sil.]

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There has actually been a lot
of progress recently with

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building a coalition, especially, here in Salt Lake City,
and they’re all starting to unite around some common goals,

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umm… and work together.

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I think our vision when we started
peaceful uprising was pretty open,

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we knew that the conning
movement was missing something.

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We found that after Tim’s action, all these
people kind of found each other through their

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uh… an attraction to the… the cause
and the spirit of that action.

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I’m sort of using my contacts in the Democratic
Party and just kind of talking to legislators about

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what’s going on and I think it’s a good opportunity
to kind of make some more contacts. I feel like,

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I have a lot of things juggling, right now.

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Umm… And it’s probably not going to slow down for a
long time. Okay, so let’s talk logistics(ph) then,

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umm… are you all willing to be there?
Yes. Yes.

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Cool, great. Peaceful uprising was formed to
address climate justice but at the same time

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we were looking to sell a new kind of
void, which is this caring for community,

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as well as Stegner(ph) said, we
want a society to match our scenery

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and that’s kind of what peaceful
uprising has become for me.

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Hello, 350 bike riders.

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[music]

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When climate change first
started becoming an issue,

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they just kind of estimated that if we exceeded
550 parts per million of carbon dioxide

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in the atmosphere that, then things would
really be out of control. And now after seeing

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some of the… the drastic effects in… in the
arctic our top scientists like, James Hansen

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are saying that that maximum safe level for
a safe climate is 350 parts per million.

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The scary thing about that is
that we’re already at around 387.

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We can still solve the problem
if we phase out coal use,

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and leave the unconventional
fossil fuels in the ground.

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We’ve got to put pressure on the political
system. We can’t burn all the fossil fuels

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without creating a different planet.
I see 5,000 actions today

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in a 175 different countries, all coming
together to say one power for (inaudible).

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And I might go to prison tomorrow
but I will wake up everyday

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and I will defend our future.

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All right. We’ll still make it 350.

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[music]

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I think in the next couple of years the
climate (inaudible) succeed or it’s gonna end

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because that will be too late.
I do feel like, this

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is a role that… that I’m well suited
for and something that I guess

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I was meant to do. And I didn’t realize
that before hand. You know, I had no idea

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that I’d good at any of this, before
I… I kind of jumped right into it.

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And you do it, so sometimes you have to jump off the
cliff first and build your wings on the way down.

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And I think that’s what I’ve
been doing over the past year.

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[music]

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You know, you appreciate things a lot more,
once you’ve worked to… to defend them.

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And there’s really a… a sense of ownership
and I think we should have that.

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It’s our land, it’s… it belongs to us we are
the American people. This is our public land.

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[music]

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He’s charged with basically making false statements
during the course of the bidding process,

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their federal felonies and
the maximum punishment

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was 10 years of prison. It
cannot simply be global warming,

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it’s got to be that they were committing
a legal action by the government,

00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:44.999
or it likely is to be a trial that we’re
going to argue legitimate defenses,

00:20:45.000 --> 00:20:49.999
we’re gonna argue the choice of evils
defense. It’s like self-defense

00:20:50.000 --> 00:20:54.999
and it basically says, when you
were faced with two evils,

00:20:55.000 --> 00:20:59.999
that if you act in a way that normally
would be against the criminal law,

00:21:00.000 --> 00:21:04.999
to prevent a greater evil
that, that can be a defense.

00:21:05.000 --> 00:21:09.999
We also argue the selective
prosecution issue

00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:14.999
in who the BLM and the Justice Department
decides who they will or will not prosecute.

00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:23.000
[music]

00:21:30.000 --> 00:21:34.999
We filed a motion of selective
prosecution in this case

00:21:35.000 --> 00:21:39.999
because there were 25 other people in the last few
years, who’d want (inaudible) since not paid for them,

00:21:40.000 --> 00:21:44.999
but the judge denied our motion and
wouldn’t give us access to those records.

00:21:45.000 --> 00:21:49.999
His judgment was,

00:21:50.000 --> 00:21:54.999
and my judgment as just lawyer is that
12 people, 12 citizens like you or I,

00:21:55.000 --> 00:21:59.999
ought to be able to hear what the evidence
is, and then they make the decision

00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:04.999
as to whether or not. He committed a violation
of law or the government did at the time,

00:22:05.000 --> 00:22:09.999
that’s the point. I also believe that there has
been pressure that has been put on politically

00:22:10.000 --> 00:22:14.999
by the money (inaudible) in this country
and particularly the oil and gas industry,

00:22:15.000 --> 00:22:19.999
to see that Tim was prosecuted.
So… so before I knew

00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:24.999
or my legal team knew or anyone in the media knew, that
I was going to get indicted, the oil industry can(ph).

00:22:25.000 --> 00:22:29.999
Martin Luther King went to
jail, they all went to jail.

00:22:30.000 --> 00:22:34.999
It takes courage and most of us
don’t have that type of courage,

00:22:35.000 --> 00:22:39.999
but once you go there, you
also have to understand

00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:45.000
that the ultimate result may not be
a positive one for you personally.

00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:54.999
In the years

00:22:55.000 --> 00:22:59.999
immediately following, his arrest the role
lectured regularly on civil disobedience,

00:23:00.000 --> 00:23:04.999
his arrest was significant and
that throw made a distinction

00:23:05.000 --> 00:23:09.999
between living up to one’s own
principles and educating the public,

00:23:10.000 --> 00:23:14.999
to be successful he maintained.

00:23:15.000 --> 00:23:19.999
Your actions had to arouse the attention
of others in order to dramatize the issue,

00:23:20.000 --> 00:23:24.999
bring conscience to bear

00:23:25.000 --> 00:23:29.999
on political action. Civil disobedience

00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:34.999
is forever linked not to
living one’s principles

00:23:35.000 --> 00:23:39.999
but being willing to suffer
for those principles.

00:23:40.000 --> 00:23:44.999
There’s been a lot of historical influences from
civil disobedience that have influenced me.

00:23:45.000 --> 00:23:49.999
And you know, most of them were preaching
nonviolence and this idea of nonviolence

00:23:50.000 --> 00:23:54.999
not meaning being soft, kind of
a strong peaceful resistance,

00:23:55.000 --> 00:23:59.999
and that power that comes through love.

00:24:00.000 --> 00:24:04.999
It doesn’t start so much with a movement of… of thinking
as a movement of the heart. The young people who saw

00:24:05.000 --> 00:24:09.999
segregated lunch counters in… in
Greensboro North Carolina 1960,

00:24:10.000 --> 00:24:14.999
those four students ignited a movement
that ultimately involved hundreds

00:24:15.000 --> 00:24:19.999
and thousands of people because
that movement of the heart

00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:24.999
touched the hearts of others.

00:24:25.000 --> 00:24:29.999
The initial purpose of that revolution have to be a simple one. The
civil rights movement can introduce the whole notion of the possibility

00:24:30.000 --> 00:24:34.999
of making social change happen.

00:24:35.000 --> 00:24:39.999
I think that’s part of what my generation lacks is
that we haven’t had these… these tangible examples of

00:24:40.000 --> 00:24:44.999
what it looks like when… when people take power
and… and are committed to changing the system.

00:24:45.000 --> 00:24:49.999
Dr. King said, \"If I can get 5%,

00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:54.999
I can change the situation.
I only need 5%.\"

00:24:55.000 --> 00:24:59.999
It’s never a matter of the majority it’s always a
matter of conscience, and conscience only operates

00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:04.999
through an individual.

00:25:05.000 --> 00:25:09.999
If England does not grant your demand,
what force of action will you call them?

00:25:10.000 --> 00:25:14.999
Of course, civil disobedience.
Gandhi is the hero,

00:25:15.000 --> 00:25:19.999
in terms of making civil disobedience of
nonviolent resistance into a political force,

00:25:20.000 --> 00:25:24.999
uh… he did it. Nobody
wants to go to prison,

00:25:25.000 --> 00:25:29.999
but they’re saying, here’s something going on that
is unjust and illegal, and harmful to the community

00:25:30.000 --> 00:25:34.999
and I must take action and I’m
sure Tim said the same thing.

00:25:35.000 --> 00:25:39.999
[music]

00:25:40.000 --> 00:25:44.999
Prison is a taste of death.

00:25:45.000 --> 00:25:49.999
You’re in a violent atmosphere,

00:25:50.000 --> 00:25:54.999
you held uh… no rights whatsoever, it…
it’s like eating ashes every day.

00:25:55.000 --> 00:25:59.999
[music]

00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:04.999
Time’s hard to deal,

00:26:05.000 --> 00:26:09.999
you got to be ready to live with this son of
a bitch because they… they’re gonna make it.

00:26:10.000 --> 00:26:14.999
And when you walk in, it’s just… here I am,
this is the universe, they got your butt(ph),

00:26:15.000 --> 00:26:19.999
no way around it, that they… they only
get your mind if you give it too.

00:26:20.000 --> 00:26:24.999
A lot of people are talking to me and…
and including (inaudible) and saying,

00:26:25.000 --> 00:26:29.999
you know, do you really think you’re going
to be more impactful going to prison

00:26:30.000 --> 00:26:34.999
than you could be as an organizer on the outside.
You might be a far more impactful as a prisoner

00:26:35.000 --> 00:26:39.999
than you were as an organizer.

00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:44.999
Yeah, but to hang on to some
kind of sense of control

00:26:45.000 --> 00:26:49.999
like you knew you’ve gotten into it for your
own choice and make… Well, yeah, oh, everyday,

00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:54.999
it’s a struggle over control. That’s
worth a dynamic between prisoner

00:26:55.000 --> 00:26:59.999
and guards all about. You know, this
is not (inaudible) legitimate(ph).

00:27:00.000 --> 00:27:04.999
When they close that door
behind you, they don’t open up,

00:27:05.000 --> 00:27:09.999
so they decide and let you go.

00:27:10.000 --> 00:27:14.999
I’m certainly proud of Tim’s
convictions and his willingness

00:27:15.000 --> 00:27:19.999
to do what he thinks is right.
But as Tim’s mother

00:27:20.000 --> 00:27:24.999
the idea of Tim have to go to
prison is just horrifying to me.

00:27:25.000 --> 00:27:33.000
[music]

00:27:35.000 --> 00:27:39.999
Both my children were born when we lived in
West Virginia. We lived out in the country.

00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:44.999
And we were passionate
about being out of doors.

00:27:45.000 --> 00:27:49.999
We love the land.

00:27:50.000 --> 00:27:54.999
We love, you know, the nature and being
outside and being a part of the wilderness.

00:27:55.000 --> 00:28:00.000
[music]

00:28:05.000 --> 00:28:13.000
[music]

00:28:30.000 --> 00:28:34.999
I wanted to come back to West Virginia,

00:28:35.000 --> 00:28:39.999
partially, just because it’s where
I grew up, and it’s always held

00:28:40.000 --> 00:28:45.000
a… a special place in my life and it’s
been a long time since I’ve seen it.

00:28:50.000 --> 00:28:54.999
I remember when I was 17,
I was going through all

00:28:55.000 --> 00:28:59.999
the… the normal kind of teenage
angst and mad at the world.

00:29:00.000 --> 00:29:04.999
When my mom said, \"You need
to go to the wilderness,\"

00:29:05.000 --> 00:29:09.999
and she basically just pointed me
to West Virginia and said, \"Go.\"

00:29:10.000 --> 00:29:14.999
And so I spent eight days alone,
backpacking around down there.

00:29:15.000 --> 00:29:19.999
[sil.]

00:29:20.000 --> 00:29:24.999
And that was really one of the most powerful experiences
uh… of my youth and had a tremendous effect

00:29:25.000 --> 00:29:29.999
on… on me developing my character.

00:29:30.000 --> 00:29:34.999
Hey, mom.

00:29:35.000 --> 00:29:39.999
All right, uh… we’re in a hotel
in Clarksburg right now.

00:29:40.000 --> 00:29:44.999
Every hotel in Bridgeport and Clarksburg
is sold out, except this one,

00:29:45.000 --> 00:29:49.999
yeah, all… all with oil and gas men.
Yup, I mean…

00:29:50.000 --> 00:29:54.999
I mean the ridiculous part is that, everything
is just eroded away in the last 20 years.

00:29:55.000 --> 00:29:59.999
And… and it’s like, you know,

00:30:00.000 --> 00:30:04.999
they’re pretending like, there’s so much economic
development coming in, but the all economic development

00:30:05.000 --> 00:30:09.999
is in the hotel rooms, you know, it’s all out
of town people that are making the money

00:30:10.000 --> 00:30:14.999
and you know, everybody here
is… is… still dead poor.

00:30:15.000 --> 00:30:19.999
I guess, I just didn’t

00:30:20.000 --> 00:30:24.999
remember of being that depressing
when I was a little kid.

00:30:25.000 --> 00:30:29.999
Yeah.

00:30:30.000 --> 00:30:38.000
[sil.]

00:30:50.000 --> 00:30:54.999
I wanted to come to see firsthand the
impacts of… of mountaintop removal.

00:30:55.000 --> 00:30:59.999
It completely obliterates the land and the communities
and the forest that used to be on top of it,

00:31:00.000 --> 00:31:04.999
and poisons people’s water.

00:31:05.000 --> 00:31:09.999
It’s really a war against
the people of Appalachia.

00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:18.000
Larry is the last holdout
on Kayford mountain.

00:31:20.000 --> 00:31:24.999
Everyone else in that area has
sold out to the coal industry,

00:31:25.000 --> 00:31:29.999
to allow mountaintop removal and that land has
been in Larry Gibson’s family since the 1700s.

00:31:30.000 --> 00:31:34.999
Couple of years ago, he watched as
they pushed his family’s graveyard

00:31:35.000 --> 00:31:43.000
over the edge of this cliff of boulders.

00:33:10.000 --> 00:33:14.999
[sil.]

00:33:15.000 --> 00:33:19.999
I’ve been offered a couple informal
plea bargains in the one form,

00:33:20.000 --> 00:33:24.999
or what was for as little
as 30 days in jail.

00:33:25.000 --> 00:33:29.999
My lawyer said, they do really want you
to serve some time to set an example

00:33:30.000 --> 00:33:34.999
that discourages other people from doing this and I… and I said that’s
exactly why am I gonna take this deal ‘cause I have the opposite motivation.

00:33:35.000 --> 00:33:39.999
And it’s really rubbed me the wrong way

00:33:40.000 --> 00:33:44.999
about any kind of solution that doesn’t
involve a jury, because I do think

00:33:45.000 --> 00:33:49.999
they need to be a key part of our legal
system as they were intended to be.

00:33:50.000 --> 00:33:54.999
My job is (inaudible) to
keep you out of jail,

00:33:55.000 --> 00:33:59.999
to me you would be much
more effective in doing

00:34:00.000 --> 00:34:04.999
what you’ve been doing during the
last two years of being an activist,

00:34:05.000 --> 00:34:09.999
speaking out, getting other people to join.
I don’t feel like

00:34:10.000 --> 00:34:14.999
that’s been very effective, and it’s
part of that lack of results from that…

00:34:15.000 --> 00:34:19.999
that drives me to use this
opportunity with the trial

00:34:20.000 --> 00:34:24.999
for as much as I can get out of it. You
have this perception of the jury that

00:34:25.000 --> 00:34:30.000
it’s gonna be a clarion voice. I know.
And… and they… they’re not.

00:34:35.000 --> 00:34:39.999
Ultimately, Peaceful Uprising’s
goal is to empower people

00:34:40.000 --> 00:34:44.999
to take strong nonviolent action
to defend a little more future.

00:34:45.000 --> 00:34:49.999
Art and music are really
at the core of everything

00:34:50.000 --> 00:34:54.999
that Peaceful Uprising does.

00:34:55.000 --> 00:34:59.999
We love street theatre, we love big
visuals, we love color, brightness, life.

00:35:00.000 --> 00:35:04.999
What I feel theater and art
give to us is a sense of hope

00:35:05.000 --> 00:35:09.999
and solidarity for people to come
together and form community connections

00:35:10.000 --> 00:35:14.999
and truly have a grassroots kind of
movement. You know, a lot of our events

00:35:15.000 --> 00:35:19.999
have kind of a levity to them, you know,
because it is about people like finding joy

00:35:20.000 --> 00:35:24.999
and that strength that comes
from standing together.

00:35:25.000 --> 00:35:29.999
All rise, (inaudible) session,

00:35:30.000 --> 00:35:34.999
the honorable Judge of future generations presiding.
Fossil fuel industry please take the stand.

00:35:35.000 --> 00:35:39.999
What role have you played
in the United states

00:35:40.000 --> 00:35:44.999
attempt to deal with climate change. We have
killed our water down every legislative attempt

00:35:45.000 --> 00:35:49.999
to reduce carbon emissions, we
have also confused the public

00:35:50.000 --> 00:35:54.999
into thinking that there is still a scientific
debate about the reality of climate change.

00:35:55.000 --> 00:35:59.999
We’re here today to try to hold our own
trial of, umm… what we all need to be doing

00:36:00.000 --> 00:36:04.999
and where the response really… really is for the situation
that we’re in today in terms of the climate crisis.

00:36:05.000 --> 00:36:09.999
Your honor, I’d like to call Dr.
James Hansen,

00:36:10.000 --> 00:36:14.999
Dr. Hansen, can you please tell us what is at stake
with the climate change that is currently occurring.

00:36:15.000 --> 00:36:19.999
What is at stake climate is
nearing dangerous tipping points.

00:36:20.000 --> 00:36:24.999
In my opinion, if emissions follow a
business as usual scenario, sea level rise

00:36:25.000 --> 00:36:29.999
of at least 2 meters is likely this century. These are all
ideas that we can’t share inside of a real court room.

00:36:30.000 --> 00:36:34.999
Umm… My trial that has
been consistently delayed,

00:36:35.000 --> 00:36:39.999
uh… has been very limited in terms of what the jury is allowed
to hear because I won’t be able to talk about those motivations

00:36:40.000 --> 00:36:44.999
and talk about the things that got me
to the point of action that I was at.

00:36:45.000 --> 00:36:49.999
It could turn out to be the
worst environmental disaster

00:36:50.000 --> 00:36:54.999
in more than 20 years.

00:36:55.000 --> 00:36:59.999
800,000 liters a day could be spewing from the sea bed. Crews
working to clean hundreds of miles of oiled shoreline…

00:37:00.000 --> 00:37:04.999
More than four hundred species
of wildlife face a dire threat…

00:37:05.000 --> 00:37:09.999
Every American affected by this bill
should know this. Your government will do

00:37:10.000 --> 00:37:15.000
whatever it takes for as long as
it’s takes to stop this crisis.

00:37:20.000 --> 00:37:24.999
So tell me what’s been
going on with your trial?

00:37:25.000 --> 00:37:29.999
It was postponed again, but what does that
mean. Are they playing games? I don’t know,

00:37:30.000 --> 00:37:34.999
I mean I was at my suspicions.
Hmm-hmm. And, you know,

00:37:35.000 --> 00:37:39.999
what I’m thinking about
this (inaudible) ways uh…

00:37:40.000 --> 00:37:44.999
with the oil spill in the Gulf. Yeah. They think it’s probably
really bad time, you put somebody on trial for stopping,

00:37:45.000 --> 00:37:49.999
uh… a legitimate oil drilling. I
thought exactly the same thing.

00:37:50.000 --> 00:37:54.999
I think, you know, maybe
they’re hoping that

00:37:55.000 --> 00:37:59.999
people forget about that like (inaudible). But
how are you holding up. Umm… Great actually.

00:38:00.000 --> 00:38:04.999
Are you? Yeah. You’re doing all right. Yeah, I am
still feeling really good about it. That’s great.

00:38:05.000 --> 00:38:09.999
In a lot of ways it’s
really… really healing

00:38:10.000 --> 00:38:14.999
and healthy to be going all out knowing
that we’re doing everything that we can

00:38:15.000 --> 00:38:19.999
to stop this injustice of our system.
Because we know what’s going on

00:38:20.000 --> 00:38:24.999
and that’s traumatizing, whether we…
whether we consciously accept that or not,

00:38:25.000 --> 00:38:29.999
and when we fight back regardless of
how hard that might be externally,

00:38:30.000 --> 00:38:34.999
internally it’s really healing and peaceful

00:38:35.000 --> 00:38:39.999
to… to be engaged in that. And that’s… that’s
not something that I understood it all

00:38:40.000 --> 00:38:44.999
when I got into this. Going into this.
Yeah, yeah that’s totally been something

00:38:45.000 --> 00:38:49.999
I’ve learned over the past year or so.

00:38:50.000 --> 00:38:54.999
A lot of people say that
scientists can’t be advocates.

00:38:55.000 --> 00:38:59.999
I think that is really… really wrong.

00:39:00.000 --> 00:39:04.999
400,000 species are going to be
going extinct between now and 2100

00:39:05.000 --> 00:39:09.999
because of what humans are doing.
Now that you’ve been to Copenhagen

00:39:10.000 --> 00:39:14.999
and seen the failures there, and it’s all the failures
of the Congress to do anything serious about climate

00:39:15.000 --> 00:39:19.999
that you see any path that’s…
That’s going to Work.

00:39:20.000 --> 00:39:24.999
…that’s gonna get us through the change we need. We have
probably the strongest president that we could have

00:39:25.000 --> 00:39:29.999
in this situation, and
we need a stronger one.

00:39:30.000 --> 00:39:34.999
They don’t think we should state wise, no.
They said, we should do the process…

00:39:35.000 --> 00:39:39.999
Pretty much every Democrat or progressive in Utah’s
pretty fed up with our Congressman Jim Matheson.

00:39:40.000 --> 00:39:44.999
He calls himself a Democrat

00:39:45.000 --> 00:39:49.999
but he’s more of conservative than most Republicans, pretty
much all he cares about is just protecting corporate profits.

00:39:50.000 --> 00:39:54.999
I’m the guy on the table who makes that
happen. And so some what out of frustration

00:39:55.000 --> 00:39:59.999
I put a \"help wanted\" ad on Craigslist. Progressive
congressional representative wanted to represent

00:40:00.000 --> 00:40:04.999
people of Utah second district in the
United States House of Representatives,

00:40:05.000 --> 00:40:09.999
must have solid moral values and resistance
to selling out to corporate interests.

00:40:10.000 --> 00:40:14.999
And that kind of started to take on a life
of its own, I started to get applicants,

00:40:15.000 --> 00:40:19.999
uh… people sending in their resumes. And… and I started
to go viral on Twitter and Facebook, and… and so I

00:40:20.000 --> 00:40:24.999
uh… pulled together all these, the progressive groups
and said, \"You know, we’ve got this opportunity

00:40:25.000 --> 00:40:29.999
to wage a real campaign here.\" And… and they
do it in a completely different way that,

00:40:30.000 --> 00:40:34.999
umm… that gets people’s attention and reminds
us of what our role is supposed to be

00:40:35.000 --> 00:40:39.999
in a democracy, that we’re
supposed to hire a representative

00:40:40.000 --> 00:40:44.999
who actually represents us.
Utah, Wright for Utah.

00:40:45.000 --> 00:40:53.000
[music]

00:41:05.000 --> 00:41:09.999
And so we ended up with this
candidate, woman who was a retired

00:41:10.000 --> 00:41:14.999
high school history teacher.
Her name is Claudia Wright.

00:41:15.000 --> 00:41:19.999
The greatness of this country is built on people
who believe in their ability to create a new world

00:41:20.000 --> 00:41:24.999
and to enact what they
truly believe is right.

00:41:25.000 --> 00:41:29.999
Then the media started paying attention, but they still
said that Claudia Wright had about a fifty to one chance of

00:41:30.000 --> 00:41:34.999
making it past the convention. Few weeks ago,
we had the state convention and she split

00:41:35.000 --> 00:41:39.999
the vote of the delegates and so now it’s
moving into a runoff primary on June 22,

00:41:40.000 --> 00:41:45.000
and… and I think she’s got a chance.

00:41:50.000 --> 00:41:54.999
Results are starting to come in
for Utah’s primary elections.

00:41:55.000 --> 00:41:59.999
About a third of the
votes have been counted

00:42:00.000 --> 00:42:04.999
and Matheson is leading just about
two to one. This is not close.

00:42:05.000 --> 00:42:09.999
Just put it away and look at this.

00:42:10.000 --> 00:42:14.999
27%, certainly counting.

00:42:15.000 --> 00:42:19.999
It’s 20… 27%.

00:42:20.000 --> 00:42:24.999
I mean, we’re giving them
this perfect opportunity

00:42:25.000 --> 00:42:29.999
to choose exactly what they’ve
been asking for, and they refused.

00:42:30.000 --> 00:42:34.999
The Democratic Party, liberals are
clearly choosing could be the party

00:42:35.000 --> 00:42:39.999
of cowardly chicken shits that are
afraid to fight for their values.

00:42:40.000 --> 00:42:44.999
So it took away an incredible group
of people that helped me do this.

00:42:45.000 --> 00:42:49.999
He was not useless, the fact that Claudia Wright
came out of your Craigslist ad that you pushed it.

00:42:50.000 --> 00:42:54.999
And that somewhat 5,000 people voted
for us, 5,000 that didn’t believe…

00:42:55.000 --> 00:42:59.999
This is not my wine.

00:43:00.000 --> 00:43:04.999
That’s champagne. If he(ph) did like,

00:43:05.000 --> 00:43:09.999
never really gain traction and… and people had
always been like, oh, it’s a Craigslist ad whatever

00:43:10.000 --> 00:43:14.999
and you know, the word
didn’t really get out.

00:43:15.000 --> 00:43:19.999
And you know, there was a much… not much of
an issue, I could have been okay with that,

00:43:20.000 --> 00:43:24.999
you know, then I would have been
like, \"Well, okay, you know,

00:43:25.000 --> 00:43:29.999
maybe Craigslist was not great of an
idea for launching a political campaign.

00:43:30.000 --> 00:43:34.999
But the fact is, it did gain traction. People are
scared. And I feel like these people voting today,

00:43:35.000 --> 00:43:39.999
did know what they were voting about. I think what
you did was great, I think what all done was great.

00:43:40.000 --> 00:43:44.999
I don’t know, I mean, it’s kind of where I’m
at with the larger climate movement that,

00:43:45.000 --> 00:43:49.999
you know. I know that

00:43:50.000 --> 00:43:54.999
we’re probably (inaudible). But the
thing is… You know, and all likelihood

00:43:55.000 --> 00:43:59.999
it’s probably far too late to defend
anything close to a livable future.

00:44:00.000 --> 00:44:04.999
(inaudible) the value in
what we’re doing is that,

00:44:05.000 --> 00:44:09.999
we’re building this network
of people willing to fight

00:44:10.000 --> 00:44:14.999
for a better world despite the odds.

00:44:15.000 --> 00:44:19.999
And when things fall apart that’s the kind of people
that we are gonna need. Cheers. That’s all we’ve got.

00:44:20.000 --> 00:44:24.999
(inaudible).

00:44:25.000 --> 00:44:30.000
[sil.]

00:44:35.000 --> 00:44:43.000
[sil.]

00:44:45.000 --> 00:44:49.999
You know, for a long time, my lawyers
were telling me if you take this to trial

00:44:50.000 --> 00:44:54.999
you’re gonna get convicted, no matter what.
And now they’re a little more optimistic,

00:44:55.000 --> 00:44:59.999
now they think we have a real chance.
At this point

00:45:00.000 --> 00:45:04.999
I guess it’s been over two years and you know, my
rights have certainly been restricted over that time.

00:45:05.000 --> 00:45:09.999
I can’t leave the country, I can’t travel freely. I
have to check in with my parole officer every week.

00:45:10.000 --> 00:45:14.999
I’ve really seen through this experience,

00:45:15.000 --> 00:45:19.999
why we have that sixth amendment
with a right to a speedy trial.

00:45:20.000 --> 00:45:24.999
This week before the trial
has been really intense

00:45:25.000 --> 00:45:29.999
like everything that’s not
the trial, uh… it has been

00:45:30.000 --> 00:45:34.999
kind of dropping out of my mind.

00:45:35.000 --> 00:45:39.999
Obviously, my dream outcome
is to get acquitted

00:45:40.000 --> 00:45:44.999
because I think that would be a pretty
clear statement that bold actions

00:45:45.000 --> 00:45:49.999
are justified in the face of our government’s
failure to do anything about climate change.

00:45:50.000 --> 00:45:54.999
But I realized that’s a long shot. I know
that I’m not going to be able to say

00:45:55.000 --> 00:45:59.999
everything that I’ve been planning to say.
The biggest one thing

00:46:00.000 --> 00:46:04.999
that I hope I’m able to let the jury know
is that this auction got reversed anyway,

00:46:05.000 --> 00:46:09.999
it got overturned because the government admitted
that they weren’t following their own laws.

00:46:10.000 --> 00:46:14.999
Either we’re going to be able to talk about
whether this option was legal or we’re not.

00:46:15.000 --> 00:46:19.999
And if we can’t even mention
that I don’t have a chance.

00:46:20.000 --> 00:46:24.999
We had to start up strong so that people
want to show up at the beginning of things

00:46:25.000 --> 00:46:29.999
as Peter Yarrow’s going to be there and speak.
The support of folks in Peaceful Uprising

00:46:30.000 --> 00:46:34.999
and in the Unitarian Church has… has really been
the only thing keeping me going through this.

00:46:35.000 --> 00:46:39.999
I definitely would have cracked and
gone crazy, if it weren’t for that.

00:46:40.000 --> 00:46:44.999
Those people have been carrying some of that emotional burden
for me, and I know that whatever does happen in the trial,

00:46:45.000 --> 00:46:49.999
they’re gonna make sure that
the legacy of this action was…

00:46:50.000 --> 00:46:54.999
is not to instill fear in
people as the government

00:46:55.000 --> 00:46:59.999
wants it to be. But the legacy of
this is going to be to empower people

00:47:00.000 --> 00:47:04.999
to take action. Never
underestimate the power

00:47:05.000 --> 00:47:09.999
of just making a banner
together with a few people.

00:47:10.000 --> 00:47:14.999
The planning behind the trial
was an ongoing process

00:47:15.000 --> 00:47:19.999
over two years, because the date kept
getting pushed back again and again.

00:47:20.000 --> 00:47:24.999
I think if the intention was to dissipate
the energy surrounding Tim’s action

00:47:25.000 --> 00:47:29.999
and it backfired grossly. When you take
a courageous action, its face-ing heart

00:47:30.000 --> 00:47:34.999
and courage as Tim did, you’ll have people stand with
you and beside you and follow in your footsteps.

00:47:35.000 --> 00:47:39.999
We’re all \"Bidder 70,\" we’re
all standing here together.

00:47:40.000 --> 00:47:44.999
Tim’s action made me realize that

00:47:45.000 --> 00:47:49.999
one person can make a difference and
this… this voice went off to my head,

00:47:50.000 --> 00:47:54.999
this is… your powerful, you can
change the world and why aren’t.

00:47:55.000 --> 00:47:59.999
The energy that’s being released around
the world and a lot of uprisings

00:48:00.000 --> 00:48:04.999
and a lot of Peaceful Uprisings, it’s a little reaffirming
to think that we’re you know somehow involved.

00:48:05.000 --> 00:48:09.999
I’m still hanging on to the
hope that this trial will be

00:48:10.000 --> 00:48:14.999
a positive and healthy thing for our movement
because the administration will feel that that way.

00:48:15.000 --> 00:48:19.999
And I hope that they’re paying attention.

00:48:20.000 --> 00:48:24.999
[music]

00:48:25.000 --> 00:48:29.999
See, if we (inaudible) we
can get meaningful life,

00:48:30.000 --> 00:48:34.999
so I am excited about that.

00:48:35.000 --> 00:48:39.999
This is something

00:48:40.000 --> 00:48:44.999
coolest protest that I had ever been at
because I have never seen so many smiling.

00:48:45.000 --> 00:48:53.000
[music]

00:49:40.000 --> 00:49:44.999
You know, after these nine
different trial dates,

00:49:45.000 --> 00:49:49.999
I am glad that it’s finally happening. I
have to have (inaudible) lot of faith

00:49:50.000 --> 00:49:54.999
in the jury. I don’t have much faith in the
rest of the legal system allowing the jury

00:49:55.000 --> 00:49:59.999
to hear relevant information.
I’ve read the sample instructions

00:50:00.000 --> 00:50:04.999
that the Judge Benson often tells
juries, you are not to weigh the wisdom

00:50:05.000 --> 00:50:09.999
of your decision, you’re just supposed to enforce
this law the way I’ve explained it to you.

00:50:10.000 --> 00:50:14.999
I am probably going to get
convicted and what I do,

00:50:15.000 --> 00:50:19.999
I’m probably gonna go to prison. Yeah,
I think I am as prepared as I can be

00:50:20.000 --> 00:50:24.999
at this point and… and as
ready for it as I’ll ever be.

00:50:25.000 --> 00:50:29.999
[sil.]

00:50:30.000 --> 00:50:34.999
The indictment in this case
charges Tim DeChristopher,

00:50:35.000 --> 00:50:39.999
did organize and participate in the steam
to defeat the provisions of the federal oil

00:50:40.000 --> 00:50:44.999
and gas leasing reform act.
Sitting through the entire trial

00:50:45.000 --> 00:50:49.999
was a painful, exhilarating, frustrating,
moving, you know, the full range

00:50:50.000 --> 00:50:54.999
of emotion was there. But I think
the most devastating thing was…

00:50:55.000 --> 00:50:59.999
is the story was not being told.

00:51:00.000 --> 00:51:04.999
Well, right now the judge is hearing arguments about how
much defense attorneys can bring in about the auction itself

00:51:05.000 --> 00:51:09.999
and the legitimacy surrounding this
auction that Tim DeChristopher

00:51:10.000 --> 00:51:14.999
is accused of rigging. Your honor we
believe we have not been able to indicate

00:51:15.000 --> 00:51:19.999
in any way that this auction was meant lawful,
which it ended up being under Director Salazar.

00:51:20.000 --> 00:51:24.999
And the fact that the matter is, the
BLM neglected their stewardship.

00:51:25.000 --> 00:51:29.999
They didn’t do the proper study,
and that we should now be able

00:51:30.000 --> 00:51:34.999
to go into that broad picture.

00:51:35.000 --> 00:51:39.999
I will not allow this trial to get turned into a debate about
whether the BLM dotted all there \"I\"s and cross all their \"T\"s

00:51:40.000 --> 00:51:44.999
nor do I think at present the defense
has the basis to argue to this jury,

00:51:45.000 --> 00:51:49.999
that Mr. DeChristopher is
not guilty because this was

00:51:50.000 --> 00:51:55.000
an illegal auction.

00:52:10.000 --> 00:52:14.999
I think the only point
where we were able to feel

00:52:15.000 --> 00:52:19.999
what was at stake was when Tim
told the story of Krista Bowers.

00:52:20.000 --> 00:52:24.999
Prosecution put up this big huge photo
of me looking back over my shoulder

00:52:25.000 --> 00:52:29.999
and had Agent love testifying
that I was like a shady character

00:52:30.000 --> 00:52:34.999
because I was looking around the room. And
so it’s good to have the opportunity then

00:52:35.000 --> 00:52:39.999
to address what I was actually looking at.
Did you see someone there that you knew?

00:52:40.000 --> 00:52:44.999
Yes, I did. And who would that be? Her name is
Krista Bowers, she is a woman I knew from my church.

00:52:45.000 --> 00:52:49.999
What was Ms. Bowers doing at that time?
She was crying.

00:52:50.000 --> 00:52:54.999
Did you believe that she was crying as a
result of the auction. Yes. All right,

00:52:55.000 --> 00:52:59.999
and what action did you take in that regard
at that moment. I started winning parcels.

00:53:00.000 --> 00:53:04.999
Is it fair to say that the whole
thing was a spur of the moment idea.

00:53:05.000 --> 00:53:09.999
Yes. You have done all these things at trial, all these
actions you’ve marched, you’ve done the back and forth,

00:53:10.000 --> 00:53:14.999
you’ve done the letter writing about the
Congress but it mattered for nothing.

00:53:15.000 --> 00:53:19.999
And then Tim gave me hope and that’s something
you can’t put a price on. He wanted to give

00:53:20.000 --> 00:53:24.999
some hope to people. Now you may disagree

00:53:25.000 --> 00:53:29.999
with the way he went about it,
but that was his purpose.

00:53:30.000 --> 00:53:34.999
It was not to violate the law, it was not
to fool anybody, it is on that basis

00:53:35.000 --> 00:53:39.999
what he was really thinking about at that
time, not whether you like him or not.

00:53:40.000 --> 00:53:44.999
Not whether you like his politics or not,

00:53:45.000 --> 00:53:49.999
but whether this spur of the movement
desire for hope was a crime,

00:53:50.000 --> 00:53:54.999
a federal crime. Ladies and gentlemen of the
jury, now that you have heard the evidence,

00:53:55.000 --> 00:53:59.999
it is your duty as jurors to follow the law

00:54:00.000 --> 00:54:04.999
as stated in the instructions of the court. You
are not to single out any one instruction alone

00:54:05.000 --> 00:54:09.999
as stating the law, neither are you to be
concerned with the wisdom of any rule of law,

00:54:10.000 --> 00:54:14.999
regardless of any opinion that you may
have as to what the law ought to be.

00:54:15.000 --> 00:54:19.999
The law does not permit jurors to be governed
by sympathy, prejudice or public opinion.

00:54:20.000 --> 00:54:24.999
[music]

00:54:25.000 --> 00:54:33.000
[sil.]

00:54:35.000 --> 00:54:39.999
The jurors liberated for
five hour and the verdict?

00:54:40.000 --> 00:54:44.999
A verdict is in the trial of Tim DeChristopher.
Environmental activist Tim DeChristopher was found guilty

00:54:45.000 --> 00:54:49.999
on all counts today. Jury has convicted Tim
DeChristopher of sabotaging a controversial federal oil

00:54:50.000 --> 00:54:54.999
and gas lease auction. The environmental
activist faces up to 10 years in prison.

00:54:55.000 --> 00:54:59.999
There is no minimum prison sentence
on this, there is a chance

00:55:00.000 --> 00:55:04.999
that the judge could give him probation.

00:55:05.000 --> 00:55:09.999
In the name of his, will you stand,
will you stand with me. Thank you all,

00:55:10.000 --> 00:55:14.999
you’re all amazing, you’ve been amazing all week.
You all have reacted with joy and resolve.

00:55:15.000 --> 00:55:19.999
You’ve shown your power,
will not be intimidated

00:55:20.000 --> 00:55:24.999
by any power that they have. And that’s the most
important that has happened here this week.

00:55:25.000 --> 00:55:29.999
Because everything that went
on inside that building

00:55:30.000 --> 00:55:34.999
tried to convince me that I
was alone and I was weak.

00:55:35.000 --> 00:55:39.999
They tried to convince me that I
was like a little finger out there

00:55:40.000 --> 00:55:44.999
on my own that could easily be broken.

00:55:45.000 --> 00:55:49.999
And all of you out here were
the reminder for all of us

00:55:50.000 --> 00:55:54.999
that I wasn’t just a finger all alone in
there, but that I was connected to a hand

00:55:55.000 --> 00:55:59.999
with many fingers that
could unite as one fist.

00:56:00.000 --> 00:56:04.999
And that that fist cannot be broken
by the power that they have in there.

00:56:05.000 --> 00:56:09.999
That fist is not a symbol of violence, that
fist is a symbol that we will not be misled

00:56:10.000 --> 00:56:14.999
into thinking we are alone, we will
not be lied to and told we are weak,

00:56:15.000 --> 00:56:19.999
we will not be divided and
we will not back down.

00:56:20.000 --> 00:56:24.999
That this is a symbol that we are connected and that we are
powerful, it’s a symbol that we hold true to our vision

00:56:25.000 --> 00:56:29.999
of a healthy unjust world, and we are building
the self empowering movement to make it happen.

00:56:30.000 --> 00:56:34.999
All those authorities in there
wanted me to think like a finger,

00:56:35.000 --> 00:56:39.999
but our children are calling
to us to think like a fist.

00:56:40.000 --> 00:56:44.999
And we know that now I’ll have to go to
prison, we know that now that’s a reality,

00:56:45.000 --> 00:56:49.999
but that’s just the job that I have to do.
That’s the role that I face

00:56:50.000 --> 00:56:54.999
and many before me have gone to jail for justice,
and if we’re going to achieve our vision

00:56:55.000 --> 00:56:59.999
many after me will have to join me as well.
I’ll join you.

00:57:00.000 --> 00:57:04.999
Nobody ever told us that
this battle would be easy,

00:57:05.000 --> 00:57:09.999
nobody ever told us that we wouldn’t
have to make sacrifices, we knew that

00:57:10.000 --> 00:57:14.999
when we started this fight. Every wave
on the ocean that is ever risen up

00:57:15.000 --> 00:57:19.999
and refused to lay back down has
been dashed upon the shore.

00:57:20.000 --> 00:57:24.999
But it’s the very purpose
of a wave to rise up,

00:57:25.000 --> 00:57:29.999
because once it rises above the horizon,
it finally has the perspective to see

00:57:30.000 --> 00:57:34.999
that it’s not just a wave, that
it’s a part of a mighty ocean,

00:57:35.000 --> 00:57:39.999
that’s the ocean that shapes the shore. And
that’s what we’re starting to do here today,

00:57:40.000 --> 00:57:44.999
that’s what we’re starting
to do here this week,

00:57:45.000 --> 00:57:49.999
with wave after wave after wave
crashing against that shore.

00:57:50.000 --> 00:57:54.999
We shape it to our vision. Thank
you all for being a part of that.

00:57:55.000 --> 00:57:59.999
What benefit is it to the government

00:58:00.000 --> 00:58:04.999
to send Tim to prison for
interrupting a process

00:58:05.000 --> 00:58:09.999
that they already declared was
illegal, unless their message is,

00:58:10.000 --> 00:58:14.999
we’re going to put down anybody who tries to
challenge us even if we’re breaking a law.

00:58:15.000 --> 00:58:19.999
He just did what he thought
was his constitutional right.

00:58:20.000 --> 00:58:24.999
Now, in the meantime we have all these
guys on Wall Street sending this country

00:58:25.000 --> 00:58:29.999
into the tank and no one’s going to jail.

00:58:30.000 --> 00:58:34.999
No one’s even being brought to justice
at all, and you want to send this kid

00:58:35.000 --> 00:58:39.999
who thought he was doing something noble
and you want to put in what maybe 10 years

00:58:40.000 --> 00:58:44.999
to me that’s unconscionable,
this is profoundly wrong.

00:58:45.000 --> 00:58:53.000
[music]

00:58:55.000 --> 00:58:59.999
I think it’s wrong that he should go to prison,
I really do in my heart, but on the other hand,

00:59:00.000 --> 00:59:04.999
civil disobedience is really that
examining people’s conscience

00:59:05.000 --> 00:59:10.000
and it can be a catalyst for change.

00:59:20.000 --> 00:59:24.999
This is not the first Powershift,
this is not the first time

00:59:25.000 --> 00:59:29.999
that we’ve had 10,000 people in one room
reminding us that we are not alone.

00:59:30.000 --> 00:59:34.999
Let this be the last Powershift when
we leave without fighting back.

00:59:35.000 --> 00:59:39.999
[music]

00:59:40.000 --> 00:59:44.999
(inaudible) environmental movement has been for
the past 30 years is like a football game.

00:59:45.000 --> 00:59:49.999
And there are some players on the
field that are fighting now,

00:59:50.000 --> 00:59:54.999
but most of the people in the stadium are up
in the stands. Most of them just paid their…

00:59:55.000 --> 00:59:59.999
their money at the door and now they’re just
yelling and screaming and… and it’s not working.

01:00:00.000 --> 01:00:04.999
Our… our team is getting slaughtered.
The rest have been paid off

01:00:05.000 --> 01:00:09.999
and that the other side is playing dirty
tricks. And still if it’s no longer acceptable

01:00:10.000 --> 01:00:14.999
for us to stay in the stands.
It’s time to rush the field

01:00:15.000 --> 01:00:19.999
and it’s time to stop the game.

01:00:20.000 --> 01:00:28.000
[music]

01:00:30.000 --> 01:00:34.999
We’re occupying

01:00:35.000 --> 01:00:39.999
the Department of Interior saying you’re perpetuating climate change,
destroying lives around the world, we’re not going to take that anymore

01:00:40.000 --> 01:00:44.999
and we’re going to risk arrest. Much of
what prepared me to be arrested in DC

01:00:45.000 --> 01:00:49.999
was the background and training I
received through Peaceful Uprising

01:00:50.000 --> 01:00:54.999
and I was ready… I was
ready to get arrested.

01:00:55.000 --> 01:00:59.999
In all my 58 years, I have
never taken that bold a stand,

01:01:00.000 --> 01:01:04.999
Tim has helped me to find my own strength.

01:01:05.000 --> 01:01:13.000
[music]

01:02:00.000 --> 01:02:04.999
I think what’s going on in the world right now is incredibly
exciting because people are finally starting to believe

01:02:05.000 --> 01:02:09.999
in people power again. And I think

01:02:10.000 --> 01:02:14.999
what is hopefully taught people more
than anything else is just the power

01:02:15.000 --> 01:02:19.999
of not backing down, not going away.

01:02:20.000 --> 01:02:28.000
[sil.]

01:02:35.000 --> 01:02:39.999
Can’t keep… get this top
button buttoned anymore.

01:02:40.000 --> 01:02:44.999
I put on too much weight for this to work.

01:02:45.000 --> 01:02:49.999
It’s good. I forgot(ph) my belt.

01:02:50.000 --> 01:02:58.000
[sil.]

01:03:30.000 --> 01:03:34.999
And my two big fears going
under this are that

01:03:35.000 --> 01:03:39.999
somehow there will actually be a resolution,
I think there’s something(ph) up in air.

01:03:40.000 --> 01:03:44.999
And uh… they’ll… that they’ll
just take me to custody today

01:03:45.000 --> 01:03:49.999
and will let me self report

01:03:50.000 --> 01:03:54.999
because I am not ready for that.

01:03:55.000 --> 01:03:59.999
And I couldn’t but like it was always
described the news being almost no chance

01:04:00.000 --> 01:04:04.999
of that happening until the last couple of
days that became realistic possibility.

01:04:05.000 --> 01:04:09.999
[sil.]

01:04:10.000 --> 01:04:14.999
I probably should have done the ketchup

01:04:15.000 --> 01:04:19.999
before I got arrested.

01:04:20.000 --> 01:04:24.999
[sil.]

01:04:25.000 --> 01:04:29.999
Few days ago everybody was I think really

01:04:30.000 --> 01:04:34.999
just nervous and worried
about what’s gonna happen.

01:04:35.000 --> 01:04:39.999
I’m definitely more (inaudible).

01:04:40.000 --> 01:04:44.999
For some reason, it didn’t
even hit me until yesterday.

01:04:45.000 --> 01:04:49.999
I was in there versatile.

01:04:50.000 --> 01:04:54.999
(inaudible) kind of journey,

01:04:55.000 --> 01:04:59.999
may be that’s because I haven’t got
much sleep last couple of days though.

01:05:00.000 --> 01:05:08.000
[sil.]

01:05:30.000 --> 01:05:34.999
Okay.

01:05:35.000 --> 01:05:43.000
[music]

01:06:00.000 --> 01:06:04.999
No. Why? You know, as an
active of civil disobedience

01:06:05.000 --> 01:06:09.999
it was the conscious choice, so I don’t
think that I should be remorseful about.

01:06:10.000 --> 01:06:14.999
Do it again, do it…

01:06:15.000 --> 01:06:19.999
He disrupted a lawful auction,
he lied to government

01:06:20.000 --> 01:06:24.999
about being a bonafide bitter, so we asked
the judge to give him a serious sentence

01:06:25.000 --> 01:06:29.999
for what we believed was a serious crime.

01:06:30.000 --> 01:06:34.999
Part of me said that there
would literally be a miracle

01:06:35.000 --> 01:06:39.999
and there was an opportunity for
the judge to say, I don’t like

01:06:40.000 --> 01:06:44.999
what you did but I don’t think you are a
dangerous person. And so I’m going to give you

01:06:45.000 --> 01:06:49.999
600 hours of community service and
you’re going to come up with a plan

01:06:50.000 --> 01:06:54.999
that I approve that will benefit the earth
and the things that you believe in.

01:06:55.000 --> 01:07:03.000
[sil.]

01:07:10.000 --> 01:07:14.999
Tim was just sentenced
to two years in federal…

01:07:15.000 --> 01:07:19.999
federal prison, he was taken away.

01:07:20.000 --> 01:07:28.000
[music]

01:08:00.000 --> 01:08:04.999
If there (inaudible) moment in the history
for us to stand for climate justice

01:08:05.000 --> 01:08:09.999
this is that moment. We only imposed a rule
of law on people like Tim DeChristopher,

01:08:10.000 --> 01:08:14.999
we never impose a rule of law on
people who steal from poor people,

01:08:15.000 --> 01:08:19.999
destroy the banking system
or destroy the earth.

01:08:20.000 --> 01:08:24.999
[music]

01:08:25.000 --> 01:08:29.999
Outrage over the sentencing for environmental
activist Tim DeChristopher spills out

01:08:30.000 --> 01:08:34.999
into the streets of Salt Lake City.
Bringing traffic and tracks

01:08:35.000 --> 01:08:39.999
to a stand still. The activists
say that Tim DeChristopher

01:08:40.000 --> 01:08:44.999
acted alone (inaudible)
controversial oil and gas auction,

01:08:45.000 --> 01:08:49.999
but they say that he is not alone now.
No matter how many people they lock up,

01:08:50.000 --> 01:08:54.999
we’re going to grow until we create the chance of winning the
seed(ph). That our responses is to aim result. And this is a message,

01:08:55.000 --> 01:08:59.999
that’s very clear that we’re not gonna be
intimidated and I will not be deterred at all.

01:09:00.000 --> 01:09:04.999
We’ve tried to talk them into leaving
but the be activists demanded

01:09:05.000 --> 01:09:09.999
to be arrested. 26 people were arrested for
failing to disperse. The group behind today’s

01:09:10.000 --> 01:09:14.999
protestants expect more of this from them
more nonviolent protests on worldwide issues.

01:09:15.000 --> 01:09:19.999
Meanwhile the Christopher’s
attorneys say, they plan to appeal.

01:09:20.000 --> 01:09:28.000
[music]

01:12:35.000 --> 01:12:43.000
[sil.]