West Virginia's top legal officer has launched an investigative probe into environmental advocacy organizations, a move the groups are denouncing as an unconstitutional attempt to silence their climate activism.
This week, the West Virginia Rivers Coalition and 350.org filed a federal lawsuit alleging that they and at least four other organizations received sweeping subpoenas from the office of Attorney General JB McCuskey. The demands, according to the complaint, seek internal communications, donor records, and details about the groups' public statements on climate and energy policy.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, asks the court to block enforcement of the subpoenas, arguing they violate the First Amendment's protections for free speech and association. The groups characterize the subpoenas as "baseless and retaliatory," part of a broader pattern of political intimidation.
The Sierra Club, another environmental group, said it also received a subpoena but that the attorney general's office withdrew it after the organization signaled it would sue. Loren Blackford, the Sierra Club's executive director, called the probe unprecedented.
"We've seen nothing like this," Blackford said. She added that while she was relieved the subpoena was withdrawn, the threat of further action remains.
The attorney general's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The investigation appears to be part of a wider trend: earlier this year, Florida's attorney general issued similar subpoenas to environmental law organizations. Congressional Republicans have also sought to investigate climate groups in recent years.
Legal experts say the subpoenas could face tough scrutiny in court, given the Supreme Court's long-standing protections for advocacy groups' political speech. The case also echoes other recent battles over state officials' use of investigative powers against their political opponents.
For more on related legal battles, see lawsuits over sanctions on international bodies and exemptions for Arctic drilling.
