The Colorado State University student arrested in March after he locked himself to a bulldozer in protest at an oil and gas site near Bella Romero Academy in Greeley has filed a motion in Weld District Court to dismiss a lawsuit brought against him by the oil company that owns the site.
The motion, filed Wednesday by Jason Flores-Williams, the attorney representing 23-year-old Cullen Lobe against Extraction Oil & Gas, claims the lawsuit against Lobe has had a “chilling effect” on his First Amendment right to freedom of speech, and includes testimony from 20 northern Colorado residents who make similar claims.
“They are trying to silence the community,” Flores-Williams said. “That’s not how we do it in America.”
Lobe was arrested after the March 8 incident and has a criminal case working through Weld District Court in which he is charged with trespassing. Police and prosecutors say he locked himself to a bulldozer at the site using a PVC lockbox while other members of the Suede Light Brigade — an environmental organization based in Boulder — looked on. Extraction Oil and Gas filed its lawsuit March 9, and named Lobe and four others as defendants in the case.
“He’s already being prosecuted for trespassing,” Flores-Williams said. “That’s what makes this so bullying.”
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