ETP has no hesitation about using underhanded tactics against its opponents. You probably already knew about the TigerSwan thugs they hired to attack Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) protesters. And maybe you’ve heard about the billion-dollar “organized crime” lawsuit that ETP recently filed against Greenpeace for their role as “terrorists” in the DAPL protests.

Now it turns out that someone, most likely TigerSwan, has commissioned a disinformation campaign against those who oppose ETP’s Bayou Bridge pipeline in Louisiana. Thanks to great investigative reporting by Shane Ryan of Paste Magazine, we know a lot about who launched the attack against the Bayou Bridge activists. There is no indication of direct involvement by ETP, but good evidence that TigerSwan played a role. If it did, ETP was probably in the background, funding things.

Whoever it was, they commissioned a fake video with an actor claiming to be a reporter in Louisiana making untrue statements about the opponents of the Bayou Bridge pipeline. The “reporter” turned out to be a North Carolina actor (named Roberto Bricchi) who was hired by a North Carolina “click-bait” producer (named Nick Johnson, but with a couple of other aliases) to do the video.

In his article, Ryan digs into the background of Nick Johnson and shows how he has been involved with various dubious oil-industry-supporting websites in exactly the states where ETP is most active. Ryan’s article explores Johnson’s apparent connections with TigerSwan. Ryan even managed to get Johnson to confirm some aspects of the story on the phone.

I encourage you to read Ryan’s full story here. It’s a long article, but well worth reading. And it gives you a preview of what to expect as ETP encounters greater resistance here in Pennsylvania.