Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier was originally going to also charge Stein with vandalism. She spray painted the words “I approve this message” and “We need decolonization” on some of the equipment being used to deploy the pipeline. Law enforcement officers arrived on site after protesters began to vandalize equipment and attach themselves to bulldozers, the Bismarck Tribune reported.
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The Standing Rock Sioux tribe has been protesting the $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline, which would carry crude oil from North Dakota to IL.
“We call upon all water protectors to greet any decision with peace and order”, he said in a statement. The pipeline has been controversial, prompting large protests from Native American tribes, who say it will traverse sacred lands pose environmental risks.
The protest Saturday came one day after the tribe filed court papers saying it found several sites of “significant cultural and historic value” along the pipeline’s path.
The Green Party released a statement noting that pipeline management “unleashed vicious attack dogs on the peaceful protestors and sprayed pepper spray into protesters’ faces”. As Bill McKibben explains in The New Yorker, the pipeline is a project the federal government pushed through under a “fast track” permit, despite the fact that it will necessarily threaten the Standing Rock Sioux reservation’s water supply and destroy sacred burial grounds.
Over the weekend, the protests turned violent as private security guards clashed with demonstrators. “So I think Chicago needs new leadership”, Stein said.
Mrs Stein was also arrested during her 2012 campaign.
While the incident is likely to hearten her liberal supporters, getting charged in a protest over a little-known oil pipeline in a remote corner of the nation probably won’t help Stein break through to mainstream voters deciding between Donald Trump, the Republicans’ presidential nominee, and Clinton, the Democrats’ choice for the White House.
Displaying her activist credentials, Stein spoke to some of the protesters about the pipeline and did some campaigning as well.
The 1,100 mile (1,770 km) crude oil pipeline passes close to Native American burial groups and is opposed by over 200 tribes. “It can not be allowed to go forward”.
Though Stein now trails Clinton, Trump, and Libertarian Gary Johnson by large margins – a recent CNN poll had her getting only 2% of the vote – she has been a vocal presence during this year’s election season.
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Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton has raised more money from the oil industry than the GOP candidate.
