State v. Yildirim

On July 8, 2021, a jury in Minnesota state court <a href="https://bemidjinow.com/four-convicted-in-itasca-county-enbridge-property-damage-case/">found</a> four activists guilty of aiding and abetting fourth degree criminal damage to property, a misdemeanor offense. The defendants were arrested in February 2019 after they entered an Enbridge pipeline valve site and turned valves on a pipeline. The defendants were sentenced to 15 days in jail, with credit for time served, and to pay fees and fines of $75. The court also ordered a one-year probation term and directed them not to enter any Enbridge property or facility. The Climate Defense Project’s <a href="https://climatedefenseproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/CDP-Climate-Necessity-Defense-Case-Guide.pdf">Climate Necessity Defense Case Guide</a> indicates that in August 2019 the court granted in part the State’s motion to exclude evidence for a necessity defense, finding that the “Four Necessity Valve Turners” had legal alternatives and failed to show that climate change harms were imminent; the court found, however, that the defendants presented sufficient evidence of a direct causal connection between violating the law and preventing harm. The Case Guide reports that the court excluded expert testimony but allowed a limited necessity defense.