Dakota Access pipeline protests grow: 127 arrested over weekend in police crackdown
Protests against the $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline continue to grow. At least 127 activists were arrested in demonstrations over the weekend, the largest group yet.
Police detained activists on an array of serious charges, including reckless endangerment, engaging in a riot, assault on a peace officer and resisting arrest, CNN reported.
For months, indigenous groups have led protests against the enormous, nearly 1,200-mile pipeline. If constructed, it would transfer roughly 470,000 barrels of crude oil per day across several states, from North Dakota to Illinois.
Indigenous leaders warn the oil pipeline could pollute their water and land. They call themselves not protesters, but “protectors.”
Environmental justice activists have also joined the demonstrations in solidarity, stressing that the massive oil pipeline would further fuel catastrophic climate change.
Local authorities in North Dakota, particularly the Morton County Sheriff’s Department, have harshly clamped down on the protests. Activists said authorities sprayed them with mace and violently threw them to the ground over the weekend.