In the latest escalation of tensions, North Dakota authorities said they planned to pursue charges against Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein for spray-painting construction equipment at a Dakota Access Pipeline protest, likely for trespassing and vandalism.
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There are also 2 solidarity events scheduled on Friday: 11 a.m.at the Sacramento County Courthouse, 720 9th St. And a federal judge is now weighing whether construction should be stopped altogether, in response to a complaint filed by the tribe, which argues that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approved the project without their consent.
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BISMARCK, N.D. – North Dakota authorities are recruiting law enforcement officers from across the state to guard the site of a protest in anticipation of an impending federal ruling on whether to block the construction of the four-state Dakota Access oil pipeline.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers didn’t oppose the tribe’s most recent request, with Assistant Atty. The Associated Press reports construction of the pipeline is also being challenged in federal court. The Yurok, Hoopa Valley, Winnemem Wintu and other Tribes from California and the Klamath Tribes of OR have passed resolutions in solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux while tribal members have traveled to the camp to join the defenders. Four security guards and two dogs reportedly sought medical attention. Dakota Access claims no burial sites were destroyed. The ancient cairns and stone prayer rings there can not be replaced.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg partially granted a temporary restraining order on building part of the pipeline and said he will issue a decision Friday in the Standing Rock Sioux tribe’s larger dispute against the pipeline, Reuters reported. Army Corps of Engineers’ decision to grant permits to the Dallas, Texas-based operators of the $3.8 billion Dakota Access Pipeline, which will cross North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and IL. That decision is expected by September 9.
“Native Americans throughout history have been the stewards of the land and we have been warning mainstream America about the destruction that they are doing and that it is not going to last”, Tribal Chairman David Archambault II of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe told ABC News. “The Tribe has been seeking to vindicate its rights peacefully through the courts”. Dakota Access did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The 1,172-mile, $3.8 billion pipeline will initially carry 450,000 barrels of oil per day from the Bakken oil fields to Patoka, Ill., with a capacity of 570,000 barrels per day.
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He noted that he saw very few law enforcement personnel near the protest site on Wednesday and said he’s appealing to protesters to remain “peaceful and prayerful”. “As the injustices implemented on our indigenous rights and lands start to surface, eventually, this great nation will do the right thing and stop the pipeline from crossing our water!” “That’s just wrong”, said Jan Hasselman, attorney for the Standing Rock Sioux. “In order for our kids to have an identity of who they are, our ancestors left significant sites for us”, he added, saying that the construction process so far has shown a complete disregard for these culturally and spiritually significant sites.
