Valve-turner Michael Foster was convicted of felony conspiracy to commit criminal mischief and misdemeanor conspiracy trespass in October of 2016 when he entered a valve site of the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota and shut the valve off. He did so after notifying Keystone that he has going to and giving them an option to shut it off remotely. This act of climate disobedience, coordinated with other activists who faced lesser charges, shut down 15% of US crude oil imports for nearly a day - a display of the sorts of shifts that are necessary to avoid complete cataclysm.  Both charges could could carry a maximum of 11 years imprisonment or 22 years total.

In February 2018, he was sentenced to 3 years (2 deferred). He was granted early release on August 1, 2018.