A bald eagle flew into a wind turbine in Minnesota and got shredded into three pieces.
The turbine was built with $7.9 million from Obama's stimulus package.
Now Trump's Interior Department just slapped the University of Minnesota with a $14,536 fine – and the photos are absolutely gruesome.
University of Minnesota Wind Turbine Killed Bald Eagle Without Permit
The University of Minnesota's Eolos Wind Energy Research Field Station in Dakota County got caught red-handed after its turbine struck a bald eagle.
Photos obtained by Fox News show what happened.
The bird didn't just die – it was torn into three separate pieces, bloodied remains scattered across the ground.
Technicians found the lower torso and tail first.
The head and wings weren't discovered until over a month later.
That turbine? Built with Obama Department of Energy money in 2010.
The cash came from his American Recovery and Reinvestment Act – the $90 billion he sold Americans as building a "clean energy economy of the future."
They Knew Birds Would Die Before Turning It On
The university knew this would happen.
Department of Interior documents confirm they were testing collision detection sensors because they knew bird strikes were a danger.
They fired up the turbines anyway.
Never bothered getting an "incidental take permit" – the legal permission required before accidentally killing protected birds.
Just hoped for the best.
The eagle paid with its life.
NextEra Wind Energy Killed 150 Eagles Across Eight States
In 2022, NextEra Energy's subsidiary ESI pleaded guilty after killing at least 150 bald and golden eagles at 50 wind farms across eight states.
They paid $8 million in fines.
Court records showed company executives were warned eagles would die if they built two Wyoming wind farms.
They built them.
Almost all those eagles were struck by spinning turbine blades.
Some turbines killed multiple eagles.
Officials believe the real death toll is much higher because carcasses aren't always found.
Last month, Trump's team fined Danish company Ørsted $32,340 for killing two eagles in Nebraska and Illinois.
First eagle died March 2024 at their Nebraska facility.
Company knew turbines were dangerous to birds after that.
Kept operating without required permits.
Year later, another eagle died 200 yards from an Illinois turbine.
Biden's White House had celebrated Ørsted as proof green energy works.
Wind Companies Got Free Pass Under Obama And Biden To Kill National Birds
Here's what connects all these cases.
Every company knew eagles would die.
None got proper permits.
All did it anyway because nobody stopped them.
Obama handed them billions in taxpayer money and looked away when they killed protected birds.
Biden did the same thing, praising companies while they racked up eagle deaths.
Trump's Interior Department under Doug Burgum is finally enforcing the law.
Spokesman Matthew Middleton didn't mince words: "America's bald eagles are a national treasure, not collateral damage for costly wind experiments."
He added that "wind companies will no longer get a free pass as this administration safeguards bald eagles and advances energy policies that prioritize affordability and strengthen America's economy."
The Double Standard Is Staggering
If you're a regular American who kills a bald eagle, you face five years in federal prison under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.
But under Obama and Biden, wind companies treated our national symbol as acceptable losses in their climate crusade.
They got tax credits worth hundreds of millions while shredding federally protected birds.
The Minnesota turbine is still standing today, still spinning, funded by your tax dollars through Obama's 2010 stimulus.
University of Minnesota confirmed they got the violation notice.
It's "currently under review."
That's government-speak for hoping this disappears quietly.
Secretary Burgum made clear those days are over.
Wind companies killing eagles with impunity just ended.
How many more eagles died at Obama-funded projects over the past 15 years while regulators pretended not to notice?
We're about to find out.
Sources:
- Peter Pinedo, "Minnesota green energy program funded by Obama fined for killing bald eagle: 'National treasure'," Fox News, February 6, 2026.
- "A wind energy company has pleaded guilty after killing at least 150 eagles," NPR, April 6, 2022.
- "Green energy company hit with thousands in fines for killing bald eagles," Fox News, November 4, 2025.
