By Alleen Brown, The Intercept
The head of security for the oil transport company Enbridge built his résumé managing Exxon Mobil’s response to community protests in Nigeria and helping oversee Amazon’s Global Security Operations Center, a division that has monitored environmental groups and union organizers. Now, at Enbridge, Troy Kirby oversees efforts to combat a protest movement aimed at stopping construction of the company’s Line 3 pipeline in Minnesota. Enbridge’s security operation has drawn criticism for its efforts to influence the police response to the Indigenous-led movement, whose members are known as water protectors.
“These are the people that specialize in the dark arts. Maybe it’s a bit more banal than we might imagine, but these are the spooks.” Enbridge’s response to the water protectors is part of a pattern of megacorporations working to quell resistance to their environmentally harmful activities. Enbridge’s close cooperation with police, including payments and intelligence sharing, has been deemed by academics and water protector critics as emblematic of corporate counterinsurgency — a suite of tactics, ranging from public relations campaigns to surveillance and support for armed force, designed to win over communities to controversial profit-making projects.
Recent Posts
‘Textbook Authoritarianism’: Trump Aims IRS Criminal Division At Left-Leaning Groups, Donors
October 16, 2025
Take Action Now Reporting by the Wall Street Journal indicates the active “weaponization” of the agency to target the far-right president’s political…
Trump Knesset Speech Displays Complete U.S. Backing Of Israel
October 15, 2025
Take Action Now Trump stirred controversy in several off-script moments in his address to the Israeli Knesset, including spotlighting a top…
When Far-Right Voters Learn Wage Inequality Facts, Their Support For Policy Solutions Jumps
October 15, 2025
Take Action Now A new study of voters in the United States and five other countries finds that those on the far right become much more supportive of…
The Ancient History Of Socialism In North America
October 14, 2025
Take Action Now There was nothing simplistic about moving — in many ways back to earlier traditions — to a system of governance not…