The Thacker Pass protesters who were hit with a lawsuit filed by Lithium Nevada are seeking to get the case dismissed. The defendants last week filed a motion to dismiss the case claiming they were exercising their right to free speech.
Lithium Nevada, which is building the Thacker Pass lithium mine, sued the protesters in late June.
The company said activists and members of the Fort McDermitt Paiute Shoshone Tribe have attempted to block construction at the mine site.
“Despite multiple warnings from law enforcement not to block public roads, Defendants have continued to do so,” the lawsuit alleges. “Indeed, Defendants have proudly broadcasted their defiance of law enforcement on social media.”
The defendants disagreed with Lithium Nevada’s claims.
“The Defendants opted to exercise their constitutional rights and went to the Mine site to pray for their ancestors as LNC destroyed those ancestors’ final resting places, destroyed culturally significant lands formerly used for subsistence and self-preservation,” they wrote in their motion. “It is appropriate to analyze whether LNC has established the elements of its claims for relief within the limitations imposed by the First Amendment.”
They also disputed LNC’s claims of violence and vandalism.
“As a sacred site is being bulldozed, non-violent protesters are being criminalized by a foreign mining company,” said attorney Terry Lodge, representing the defendants. “My clients were engaged in protest that is clearly protected by the U.S. Constitution. This is corporate greed and bullying.”
