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Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes to fossil fuel industry: 'I intend to hold you accountable'

SEATTLE — Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes and activists shared their plans to take legal action against the fossil fuel industry on Monday.

"Seattle for a Green New Deal is calling for the fossil fuel industry to be held accountable, which is in direct alignment with my thinking," Holmes said in a news release ahead of Monday's news conference.

"The fossil fuel industry has caused immeasurable harm to our society, and I intend to do everything in my power to make sure that fossil fuel companies pay their fair share for the mess they have caused."

LaDonna BraveBull Allard, a Standing Rock historian and founder of the Standing Rock Resistance camp, is visiting Seattle and also spoke Monday.

"These oil companies, and the entire fossil fuel industry, need to be held accountable for their acts of genocide against indigenous peoples and the earth," Allard said.

As of Monday, 13 cities, states or counties across the U.S. have filed legal action against the fossil fuel industry.

"We can't have a visionary Green New Deal without having the City of Seattle directly take on the industry that continues to poison, flood, and displace our communities," said Jonathan Fikru with Got Green, a non-profit organization in Seattle.

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