probablyasocialecologist:

“Some may view these actions as violent, but be not mistaken. We acted from our hearts and never threatened human life nor personal property,” Montoya said. “What we did do was fight a private corporation that has run rampant across our country, seizing land and polluting our nation’s water supply. You may not agree with our tactics, but you can clearly see their necessity in light of the broken federal government and the corporations they represent.”

Though Reznicek and Montoya saw themselves as acting within the Catholic Worker tradition, their uncompromising stance on the efficacy of property destruction alienated even some within the broader movement. Nevertheless, the pair never expressed outward doubt or remorse about committing their acts, even as oil continued to flow through the pipeline.

“I am not going to choose fear,” Montoya said in 2017 to an audience of eco-activists in Minnesota, many of them old enough to be her parents or grandparents. “I’m looking at centuries in prison — and I feel more free.”