ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Will Potter - Investigative journalist
Award-winning journalist and author, Will Potter focuses on the animal rights and environmental movements, and civil liberties in the post-9/11 era.

Why you should listen

Independent journalist and TED Fellow Will Potter is based in Washington, D.C.; his current work examines how whistleblowers and non-violent protesters are being treated as terrorists.

The author of Green Is The New Red: An Insider's Account of a Social Movement Under Siege, Potter has extensively documented how non-violent protest is slowly being criminalized. His reporting and commentary have been featured in the world's top media outlets, including the Washington Post, NPR, Rolling Stone, El Pais, and Le Monde. He has testified before the U.S. Congress about his reporting, as the only witness opposing the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act -- and he is a plaintiff in the first lawsuits challenging so-called "ag-gag" laws as unconstitutional.

Will has also lectured at many universities and public forums about his work, including Georgetown University, Harvard Law School, and the House of Democracy and Human Rights in Berlin. International speaking tours have included Germany, Austria, Switzerland, New Zealand, and Spain, and he was the international guest lecturer for Australia's 2014 animal law lecture series.

His reporting has overturned criminal prosecutions, and it has both been praised in Congressional reports and monitored by the Counter-Terrorism Unit.

More profile about the speaker
Will Potter | Speaker | TED.com
TED2014

Will Potter: The shocking move to criminalize nonviolent protest

Will Potter: O movimento revoltante para criminalizar protestos pacíficos

Filmed:
1,127,722 views

Em 2002, o repórter investigativo e TED Fellow Will Potter decidiu dar uma pausa no seu trabalho usual, escrever sobre tiroteios e assassinatos para o Chicago Tribune. Ele decidiu ajudar um grupo local em campanhas contra testes em animais: "Eu pensei que seria uma maneira segura de fazer algo positivo", ele disse. Ao invés disso, ele foi preso, e assim começou sua atual jornada em um mundo onde protestos pacíficos são marcados como terrorismo.
- Investigative journalist
Award-winning journalist and author, Will Potter focuses on the animal rights and environmental movements, and civil liberties in the post-9/11 era. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

Menos de um ano após o 11 de setembro,
00:12
It was less than a year after September 11,
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eu estava no jornal Chicago Tribune
00:15
and I was at the Chicago Tribune
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escrevendo sobre tiroteios e assassinatos,
00:16
writing about shootings and murders,
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00:18
and it was leaving me feeling
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e isso estava me deixando
00:20
pretty dark and depressed.
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bastante deprimido.
00:21
I had done some activism in college,
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Eu fui ativista na universidade,
00:23
so I decided to help a local group
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então decidi ajudar um grupo local
00:25
hang door knockers against animal testing.
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a bater de porta em porta
contra testes em animais.
00:27
I thought it would be a safe way
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Pensei que seria uma maneira segura
00:29
to do something positive,
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de fazer algo positivo,
00:31
but of course I have the absolute worst luck ever,
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mas, é claro, eu tive
o maior azar possível,
00:33
and we were all arrested.
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e todos nós fomos presos.
00:36
Police took this blurry photo of me
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A polícia tirou essa foto minha
00:38
holding leaflets as evidence.
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segurando panfletos como evidência.
Minhas acusações foram retiradas,
00:41
My charges were dismissed,
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mas poucas semanas depois,
00:43
but a few weeks later,
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00:44
two FBI agents knocked on my door,
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dois agentes do FBI
bateram na minha porta,
00:46
and they told me that unless I helped them
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e disseram que se eu não os ajudasse
00:48
by spying on protest groups,
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espionando grupos de protestos,
00:50
they would put me on a domestic terrorist list.
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eles me colocariam em uma lista
de terroristas domésticos.
00:54
I'd love to tell you that I didn't flinch,
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Eu adoraria dizer que não hesitei,
00:56
but I was terrified,
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mas eu estava aterrorizado,
00:58
and when my fear subsided,
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e quando meu medo diminuiu,
01:00
I became obsessed with finding out
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eu fiquei obcecado em descobrir
01:02
how this happened,
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como isso aconteceu,
como direitos dos animais
e ativismo ambiental,
01:03
how animal rights and environmental activists
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01:05
who have never injured anyone
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que nunca machucaram ninguém,
01:07
could become the FBI's number one
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poderiam se tornar, para o FBI,
a ameaça número um
em terrorismo doméstico?
01:09
domestic terrorism threat.
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01:12
A few years later, I was invited to testify
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Alguns anos depois,
fui convocado a depor
01:14
before Congress about my reporting,
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em frente ao Congresso,
sobre minhas reportagens
e eu disse ao legislativo
que, enquanto todos falam em ecologia,
01:17
and I told lawmakers that, while everybody
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01:18
is talking about going green,
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01:20
some people are risking their lives
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algumas pessoas arriscam suas vidas
01:21
to defend forests and to stop oil pipelines.
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em defesa de florestas
e para parar oleodutos.
Eles estão fisicamente
se colocando na linha
01:25
They're physically putting their bodies on the line
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01:27
between the whalers' harpoons and the whales.
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entre os arpões de caçadores
e as baleias.
01:30
These are everyday people,
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Essas são pessoas comuns,
01:32
like these protesters in Italy
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como esses ativistas na Itália
01:34
who spontaneously climbed over
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que espontaneamente escalaram
01:36
barbed wire fences to rescue beagles
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cercas com arame farpado
para salvar beagles
01:38
from animal testing.
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de testes com animais.
01:41
And these movements have been incredibly effective
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E esses movimentos têm sido
incrivelmente efetivos
01:43
and popular,
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e populares.
01:45
so in 1985, their opponents made up a new word,
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Então, em 1985, seus oponentes
criaram uma nova palavra
01:49
eco-terrorist,
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"eco-terrosrista"
01:51
to shift how we view them.
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para mudar a forma como os vemos.
01:53
They just made it up.
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Eles simplesmente inventaram-na.
01:55
Now these companies have backed new laws
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Mas essas companhias
trouxeram novas leis,
01:57
like the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act,
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como o "Ato Terrorista Contra
Empresas Com Animais",
02:00
which turns activism into terrorism
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que transforma ativismo em terrorismo
02:02
if it causes a loss of profits.
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se isso causar uma perda de lucro.
02:05
Now most people never even heard about this law,
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Hoje a maioria das pessoas
nem sequer ouviu sobre esta lei,
02:08
including members of Congress.
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inclusive membros do Congresso.
02:10
Less than one percent were in the room
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Menos de 1% estava na sala
02:12
when it passed the House.
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quando isso passou pela Casa.
02:14
The rest were outside at a new memorial.
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O restante estava ausente,
em um novo memorial.
02:17
They were praising Dr. King
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Eles estavam elogiando Dr. King
02:19
as his style of activism was branded as terrorism
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enquanto seu estilo de ativismo
era marcado como terrorismo
02:22
if done in the name of animals or the environment.
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se feito em nome dos animais
ou do meio ambiente.
02:26
Supporters say laws like this are needed
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Apoiadores dizem que leis como esta
são necessárias devido aos extremistas:
02:28
for the extremists:
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02:30
the vandals, the arsonists, the radicals.
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os vândalos,
os incendiários e os radicais.
02:33
But right now, companies like TransCanada
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Mas agora mesmo,
empresas como a TransCanada
02:35
are briefing police in presentations like this one
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estão instruindo a polícia
com apresentações como esta
02:38
about how to prosecute nonviolent protesters
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sobre como processar
manifestantes pacíficos
02:41
as terrorists.
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como terroristas.
02:43
The FBI's training documents on eco-terrorism
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Os documentos do FBI sobre
eco-terrorismo
02:47
are not about violence,
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não são sobre violência,
02:48
they're about public relations.
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mas sim sobre relações públicas.
02:51
Today, in multiple countries,
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Hoje, em vários países,
corporações têm forçado novas leis
02:53
corporations are pushing new laws
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02:54
that make it illegal to photograph
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que tornam ilegal fotografar
02:56
animal cruelty on their farms.
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crueldade contra animais em suas fazendas.
02:59
The latest was in Idaho just two weeks ago,
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A última foi em Idaho, duas semanas atrás,
03:02
and today we released a lawsuit
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e hoje nós entramos com uma ação
03:04
challenging it as unconstitutional
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contestando-a como inconstitucional,
como uma ameaça ao jornalismo.
03:05
as a threat to journalism.
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03:08
The first of these ag-gag prosecutions,
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O primeiro desses processos "mordaça",
como são chamados,
03:10
as they're called,
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foi contra uma mulher chamada Amy Meyer.
03:12
was a young woman named Amy Meyer,
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03:13
and Amy saw a sick cow being moved
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Amy viu uma vaca doente ser removida
03:15
by a bulldozer outside of a slaughterhouse
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por uma escavadeira,
para fora de um matadouro
03:18
as she was on the public street.
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e ela estava em uma via pública.
E Amy fez o que qualquer um
de nós teria feito:
03:20
And Amy did what any of us would:
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03:22
She filmed it.
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ela filmou.
03:24
When I found out about her story, I wrote about it,
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Quando descobri essa história,
eu escrevi sobre ela,
03:27
and within 24 hours, it created such an uproar
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e dentro de 24 horas
isso criou tamanha agitação
03:30
that the prosecutors just dropped all the charges.
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que os acusadores simplesmente
retiraram todas as queixas.
Mas, aparentemente, até mesmo expor
03:33
But apparently, even exposing stuff like that
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coisas como essa é uma ameaça.
03:35
is a threat.
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Através do Ato de Liberdade de Informação,
03:37
Through the Freedom of Information Act,
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03:39
I learned that the counter-terrorism unit
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eu descobri que a unidade antiterrorista
03:41
has been monitoring my articles
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estava monitorando meus artigos
03:43
and speeches like this one.
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e palestras como esta.
03:45
They even included this nice
little write-up of my book.
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Até mesmo deram esta
pequena nota sobre meu livro.
03:47
They described it as "compelling and well-written."
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Descreveram-no como
"envolvente e bem escrito".
03:50
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
03:55
Blurb on the next book, right?
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Sinopse no próximo livro, certo?
03:58
The point of all of this is to make us afraid,
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A objetivo disso tudo é nos causar medo,
mas como jornalista,
tenho uma fé inabalável
04:02
but as a journalist, I have an unwavering faith
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04:04
in the power of education.
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no poder da educação.
04:06
Our best weapon is sunlight.
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Nossa maior arma é a luz do sol.
Dostoevsky disse que
todo o trabalho do homen
04:09
Dostoevsky wrote that the whole work of man
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04:11
is to prove he's a man and not a piano key.
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é provar que é um homem
e não uma tecla de piano.
Desde sempre através da história,
04:14
Over and over throughout history,
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04:16
people in power have used fear
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pessoas no poder usaram o medo
04:18
to silence the truth and to silence dissent.
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para silenciar a verdade e a dissidência.
04:22
It's time we strike a new note.
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É hora de tocarmos um novo acorde.
Obrigado.
04:24
Thank you.
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(Aplausos)
04:26
(Applause)
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Translated by Rafael Braga Rodrigues
Reviewed by Gustavo Rocha

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Will Potter - Investigative journalist
Award-winning journalist and author, Will Potter focuses on the animal rights and environmental movements, and civil liberties in the post-9/11 era.

Why you should listen

Independent journalist and TED Fellow Will Potter is based in Washington, D.C.; his current work examines how whistleblowers and non-violent protesters are being treated as terrorists.

The author of Green Is The New Red: An Insider's Account of a Social Movement Under Siege, Potter has extensively documented how non-violent protest is slowly being criminalized. His reporting and commentary have been featured in the world's top media outlets, including the Washington Post, NPR, Rolling Stone, El Pais, and Le Monde. He has testified before the U.S. Congress about his reporting, as the only witness opposing the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act -- and he is a plaintiff in the first lawsuits challenging so-called "ag-gag" laws as unconstitutional.

Will has also lectured at many universities and public forums about his work, including Georgetown University, Harvard Law School, and the House of Democracy and Human Rights in Berlin. International speaking tours have included Germany, Austria, Switzerland, New Zealand, and Spain, and he was the international guest lecturer for Australia's 2014 animal law lecture series.

His reporting has overturned criminal prosecutions, and it has both been praised in Congressional reports and monitored by the Counter-Terrorism Unit.

More profile about the speaker
Will Potter | Speaker | TED.com