The Biden administration arrested somebody for alleged "climate" offenses, another dubious first in the president's legacy of politicized justice.
Michael Hart, 58, became the first person to ever be charged with a climate change-related crime when he pled guilty in September to "smuggling greenhouse gases" across the Mexican border.
The Biden regime gloated over Hart's unprecedented arrest in its Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report.
The San Diego man allegedly used tarp to conceal refrigerants, known as hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HFCs), as he crossed the Mexican border.
The gases were outlawed by the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act of 2020, which was signed into law by President Trump in a spending package at the end of his first term.
"To achieve the AIM Act’s goal of an 85% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2036, EPA is acting in a number of ways, including by implementing an initiative to disrupt the illegal smuggling of HFCs through United States borders and ports," the agency said.
The Biden-appointed federal prosecutor who brought the case, Tara McGrath, gloated that it "will not be the last."
"We are using every means possible to protect our planet from the harm caused by toxic pollutants, including bringing criminal charges,” she said.
According to the EPA, there were 121 climate arrests in 2024, a Biden record, and $1.7 billion in criminal penalties brought against environmental offenders.
The report emphasized its role to protect "underserved communities," an allusion to the concept of "climate justice."
"In FY 2024, the criminal enforcement program opened 200 new cases, with 61% in overburdened and underserved communities, and charged 121 defendants. In terms of overall relief, the program secured total fines and restitution exceeding $26 million; $750,000 in court ordered environmental projects; 19.3 years of incarceration; and forfeiture of $322,706 in illegal proceeds," the EPA's report said.
Of course, the Biden administration hardly showed the same level of concern about the importation of fentanyl, to say nothing of the violent illegal aliens who crossed the border and went on to kill American citizens like Laken Riley.
By the way, how much damage did Biden cause to the environment with his open border policy? How many millions of immigrants left trash in their wake while crossing the border?
While the Biden regime may have been given legal authority to pursue this case, the regime's failure to stop years of chaos at the border speaks volumes about the regime's priorities - and proves that this case has nothing to do with the "rule of law."
Mark this down as another egregious example of the Biden regime's weaponization of government.
