Kevin Gilbertt / Via Facebook: kevin.happychappy
With temperatures below freezing Sunday night, authorities deployed water cannons against people protesting the construction of the Dakota Access oil pipeline.
Protesters stood facing law enforcement at Highway 1806, near the camps where they have worked to block the pipeline for months. Video from the scene captured streams of water spraying into the crowd and sounds of shouting. People at the scene also said on social media that they had been tear gassed and fired upon with rubber bullets.
What prompted the clash, as well as if there were injuries, was not immediately clear. No information was available from the local Morton County Sheriff's Department, where the main phone line was busy Sunday night. Meanwhile, protesters tried to draw attention to what was happening on social media via the hashtag #NoDAPL. Live video streams were shared thousands of times.
Kevin Gilbertt, a protester who was filming the scene from a nearby hillside, said via Facebook Live that protesters had gathered on a bridge. The situation had escalated from earlier in the day, when protesters had sought to clear burned-out trucks that had been acting as a blockade, he said.
The protest near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation has drawn thousands of people over three months, including Native Americans, environmentalists, and some celebrities. Protesters, some of whom call themselves "water protecters," have sought to block construction of the pipeline, which they fear could contaminate local water sources, by camping on land owned by its developer. The pipeline would also cross sacred land, protesters have said.
Stephanie Keith / Reuters
In October, 117 people were arrested for blocking a road and camping on private property.
Since then, winter has began to set in. On Sunday evening, temperatures were in the low 20s. In response, some protesters have tried to fortify their campsite — which local authorities have publicly said is illegal.
Stephanie Keith / Reuters
On Friday, Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier urged campers to go home.
“Protestors at the camps are erecting unlawful structures in an attempt to fortify for the coming winter weather, but their actions are both illegal and likely insufficient to protect them from the elements,” Kirchmeier said in a statement. “We’ve seen that many of these protestors are not from NorthDakota and may not be familiar with the harshness of our winters, and we urge them to leave the camps and seek appropriate shelter for their own health and safety.”
LINK: 117 Oil Pipeline Protesters Arrested In North Dakota As Authorities Clear Camp
LINK: Here’s What It’s Like At The Standing Rock Pipeline Protest In North Dakota
from BuzzFeed - USNews http://ift.tt/2gcB0TL
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