Do you disagree with Shell Oil’s plan to drill in the Arctic? Well, Shell is trying to silence you.

This week, the Shell Oil Company responded to Greenpeace New Zealand activists who boarded its drillship by filing a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) against Greenpeace USA. Shell’s proposed order would have been one of the broadest and most restrictive in US legal history.

If granted, the restraining order could have been applied to any of the 500,000 online activists associated with Greenpeace USA who chose to take action with the organization at Shell’s gas stations, regional offices or its other venues around the country.

But, on March 1 a federal judge in Alaska rejected the bulk of the request as too broad. Instead, the judge issued a limited order against Greenpeace USA to keep us from approaching either of the drilling vessels that will be used for offshore exploratory drilling north of Alaska. Continue reading →