The temperature was 25 degrees. Dozens were treated for hypothermia. Photo Credit: MagicZoetrope / Flickr
By Alexandra Rosemann / Alternet
Police used water cannons and tear gas against hundreds of Dakota Access Pipeline protesters in Cannon Ball, North Dakota, late Sunday, Nov. 20. At least one person was arrested and dozens injured.
The confrontation began at 6pm, near the encampment were the protests against the $3.8 billion pipeline have been ongoing for months. According to the Morton County Sheriff’s Department, 400 protesters attempted to cross Blackwater Bridge on state Highway 1806 after removing a burned-out truck.
Energy Transfer Partners, the pipeline developer, has refused to reroute the pipeline and insists that the pipeline has not disturbed any sites sacred to the Standing Rock Sioux. But the tribe and their allies also fear that, like with many pipeline projects across the nation, a disastrous leak is inevitable.
Protesters received aid at the Cannon Ball gym after being doused with tear gas according to Tara Houska, an organizer with Honor the Earth, one of the groups participating in the action.
“Further delays simply prolong the risks to public safety, prolong the hardships endured by area residents and increase costs incurred by the state of North Dakota and Morton County,” North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple said in a statement in which he asked law enforcement for assistance in handling protests.
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Water cannons used against protester/protectors in sub-freezing North Dakota temperatures? Probably we should call that Morton County Sheriff’s office to register a complaint. They wouldn’t do that to livestock.
…And Obama still neither does nor says a word about police violent tactics against peaceful protestors.
Thanks Obama –Jeez no wonder Democrats lost. The Obama legacy: Donald J. Trump.