Also on Friday, a USA judge denied a request from the Standing Rock Sioux tribe to stop construction of the pipeline.
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The company behind a controversial pipeline project near native American land in North Dakota has vowed to press ahead, despite the plan sparking protests across the world on Tuesday.
When fully connected to existing lines, the 1,100-mile (1,770 km), $3.7 billion pipeline would be the first to carry crude oil from the Bakken shale directly to the U.S. Gulf.
The arrests brought to 66 the total number of people arrested since protests started about a month ago, including 22 taken into custody Tuesday at a construction site near Glen Ullin, the most arrests in one day so far. The two who tethered themselves to equipment also face charges of hindering law enforcement and disorderly conduct.
“This pipeline must be stopped!” the Vermont senator shouted.
As construction continued, the tribe filed an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order, but the U.S. District Court Judge overseeing the motion denied it and construction continued. Nurses urged the government to permanently block the disputed project that nurses say is a threat to public health, as well as to the tribe’s sacred sites. It also asked for a “voluntary pause” of work by Energy Transfer Partners for 20 miles on either side of Lake Oahe, to which ETP has not indicated its position, though it noted in an email that work was ongoing elsewhere in the other four states.
Later this fall, the federal government will meet with Native American leaders to decide whether to reform its process for building infrastructure projects that will affect tribal lands.
Morton County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Rob Keller says the company reported that protesters vandalized the equipment.
Demonstrators say they hope this will move more people to act and speak out against pipelines.
Already, social media is filled with images of crowds clashing with contractors and private security guards unleashing pepper spray and canines. The arrests were made 70 miles northwest of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe’s main protest site.
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The Dakota Access pipeline would bring oil from North Dakota’s Bakken shale fields east to IL.
