When I presented the No2Rivian Movement in March 2022, few people knew that Rivian was not welcome in Georgia. Governor Brian Kemp and some other politicians wanted it there, but not the folks living close to where the factory is supposed to be built in 2026. So much so that they joined forces to create the No2Rivian Movement, which now received a court motion demanding that its members pay $540,750 in legal fees. The No2Rivian members named that move a SMAPP lawsuit.
That acronym stands for SMAPP, Strategic Motion Against Public Participation. That's a joke about what the movement members think the motion is: a SLAPP, or a Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation. They are also called intimidation lawsuits and have been forbidden in several countries and some US states as an attempt against freedom of speech because their main goal is to frighten critics, making them give up whatever they have to say out of a fear of retaliation.
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