Dusting Off Greenpeace By Dusting Off The Law Books

Greenpeace is now up in arms over the fact that the US Department of Justice has dusted off an 1872 law against "sailor mongering" to go after the organization. The law prohibits the boarding of a ship before its arrival in port and the conspiracy to do so. This is exactly what Greenpeace did.

They boarded a ship passing up the Florida coast (it's final destination was Charleston, South Carolina) to unfurl a banner protesting illegal logging of mahogany. Greenpeace chose this particular ship because they suspected it of transporting Brazilian mahogany.

Freedom of speech? Sure. Whether the ship was transporting mahogany or not, Greenpeace has an absolute right to protest illegal logging. However, if they choose to break the law, even unknowingly, while doing so, they must accept the consequences.

They broke the sailor mongering law. The law does not require success in the mongering endeavor, it prohibits the boarding. That is the illegal act. And that is what Greenpeace did. They boarded APL Jade.

Civil disobedience is not grounds for an exemption from the punishments associated with the acts. In this case, the DOJ appears to be bringing the charges against the organization itself. It would be hard for Greenpeace to argue that there was no organizational conspiracy to board the ship.

The DOJ seems to be approaching this with the goal of gaining a conviction, not because of the prison time or fines, but instead because they can then go to the IRS using the conviction as the basis for revoking the tax exempt status of the organization.

Is it an attempt to silence free speech? Maybe, I'll even say probably. But Greenpeace is being given every opportunity through the court system to defend their actions and to cast reasonable doubt. The DOJ isn't arbitrarily silencing Greenpeace, it is working the system, just like the protest organizations do.

There are consequences to breaking the law, even if it is being broken with the best of intentions. Greenpeace needs to remember that. They are no more above the law, even the obscure and unused ones, any more than you or I.