A North Dakota jury has found Greenpeace liable for hundreds of millions of dollars in damages to a giant pipeline company in relation to protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline nearly a decade ago.

Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners sued Greenpeace in 2019, accusing the environmental group of masterminding the protests near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in 2016 and 2017, spreading misinformation and causing the company financial loss through damaged property and lost revenues.

After a three-week trial, the 9-person jury took two days to return their verdict, awarding more than $660 million in damages to Energy Transfer. Advocacy groups have called the verdict as a "weaponisation of the legal system" and an "assault" on free speech and protest rights.