The Supreme Court heard arguments Monday on a climate‑damage lawsuit that could reshape how energy firms are held accountable, while protestors gathered outside to cheer the plaintiff.
Ranchers Turn Legal Fight Into Political Stage
Boulder, Colorado, sued Suncor Energy and Exxon Mobil, alleging their emissions fuel climate change that harms its residents. The case will decide whether the city can collect monetary damages.
Dozens of demonstrators assembled at the court, organized by left‑leaning groups Fossil Free Media and the Center for Climate Integrity, according to The New York Times. The New York Times reported how “dozens of protestors” gathered outside the court as the justices heard arguments in the case to voice support for Boulder.
Among the speakers were former Washington Governor Jay Inslee and two self‑identified ranchers, Kathryn Bedell and Deirdre Macnab, who signed an amicus brief backing Boulder. The brief argues that climate change “is a lived reality that disrupts their lives and threatens their livelihoods,” appealing to the emotional stakes of family‑run ranches.
The filing targets Justice Neil Gorsuch, a fourth‑generation Coloradan with a decade on the 10th Circuit, whose Western experience includes resource disputes.
Bedell, a Democrat appointee to Colorado’s Agricultural Commission and former chair of the Western Organization of Resource Councils’ Agriculture and Food Campaign, has ties to dark‑money networks. InfluenceWatch notes that WORC’s education project has received substantial grants from Soros‑backed Tides Foundation, the Bezos Earth Fund, the Windward Fund and other left‑leaning donors.
Bedell’s social media activity shows open hostility toward President Trump, Republicans and the Supreme Court, including posts urging mass action to remove Trump and comparing the current administration to Nazi Germany. She also shared a post calling for the next Democratic Congress to investigate the Court and expand it, and another that referenced the 2024 immunity decision with language about “hanging” officials after Trump leaves office.
Macnab previously led the League of Women Voters in Florida, an advocacy group funded by multiple left‑wing dark‑money entities, according to InfluenceWatch. Other ranchers in the brief, such as Jay Fetcher, sit on boards of left‑leaning groups like Conservation Colorado, which receives funding from the Energy Foundation and the Wyss Foundation. Mike Callicrate serves on the Socially Responsible Agriculture Project, an organization that links modern agriculture to climate change and racial injustice.
Neither Bedell nor Macnab responded to The Federalist’s request for comment before the deadline, leaving their positions unchallenged.
The Court will meet in private conference Friday to issue a preliminary vote, with a final decision likely not arriving until the 2026 term.
