Officials in a North Dakota county have issued a warrant for the arrest of Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein, accused of vandalising a bulldozer at the Dakota Access pipeline protest.
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Stein, along with running mate, activist Ajamu Baraka, were charged with criminal mischief and criminal trespassing. She was reportedly seen spray painting “I approve this message” while Baraka reportedly spray painted “decolonization”, according to the Sheriff’s department.
According to the same news report, two protesters attached themselves to bulldozers while other equipment was allegedly vandalized.
The protest broke out in part due to objections from the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, which says work on the project is endangering local cultural heritage sites, reported KDLT.
Stein campaign spokeswoman Meleiza Figueroa could not immediately comment on whether Stein plans to turn herself in.
Tuesday’s protests were relatively calm compared with an earlier melee on Saturday, when protesters were enraged after bulldozers suddenly began plowing land that the tribe said contained newly discovered ancient artifacts. Like protesting a bad pipeline that will destroy ancient Native American burial grounds and threaten an entire reservation’s water supply.
Native American protestors are confronted by security during a demonstration against the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), near Cannon Ball, North Dakota. The DAPL is a $3.8 billion project, meant to transport crude oil from Montana and North Dakota’s Bakken Formation to oil refineries in the Gulf Coast.
“I felt like it was the least I could do in front of these Indian leaders, as they were putting their lives and their bodies on the line”, Stein said.
The 1,100-mile Dakota Access Pipeline is being constructed by a company called Dakota Access.
“The North Dakota construction site has been a flashpoint for violent, environmental protests since Labor Day weekend, sending multiple private security employees and their service dogs for medical treatment”, Churchwell stated.
Kudos to Stein for putting her money where her mouth is and drawing attention to this most fucky of government fuckery.
Seemingly in response to the charges, Stein tweeted, “The Dakota Access Pipeline is vandalism on steroids”.
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Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump ‘s $90 million raised in August leaves him behind the $143 million that his Democratic counterpart, Hillary Clinton, raised this summer.
