Police using tear gas forcibly removed protesters at the site of the controversial Dakota Access pipeline from a road barricade Thursday.
Protesters blocked multiple state roads that go through the Standing Rock Sioux’s reservation to halt construction of the crude oil pipeline. They constructed barriers of tires and trees, which had been lit on fire, along with vehicles, according to Mother Jones reporter Wes Enzinna.
A Facebook Live stream posted by a protester showed police in riot gear advancing on the protesters earlier in the afternoon and urging them to return to their campsite. While the roads were on reservation land, they were state roads and needed to be cleared, police could be heard saying.
Enzinna reported many arrests and tear gas unleashed just before 5 p.m.
The 1,172-mile pipeline would run from the oil fields of North Dakota to Illinois. It is expected to transport about 470,000 barrels per day of light, sweet crude oil.
Pipeline construction has been temporarily halted by the Obama administration over concerns from the Standing Rock Sioux tribe. The tribe says the pipeline would cross under a reservoir used for their drinking water and would disturb ancient artifacts that are important to the tribe.
The Obama administration temporarily blocked construction on the pipeline, but two federal judges have ruled that construction could continue since the Standing Rock Sioux were properly consulted about the pipeline during the permitting process. In protest, the demonstrators moved their campsite into the path of the pipeline.
About 60 percent of the pipeline has been completed. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers needs to issue one final easement over the Missouri River for construction to be completed.
Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club, said Thursday evening the police were violating the protesters’ First Amendment rights to peaceably assemble.
“Water protectors have and continue to peacefully exercise their First Amendment rights, calling on the Obama administration to reject the dirty and dangerous Dakota Access pipeline. Forcible removal by the police — let alone the militarized police presence now on site — is unacceptable,” Brune said. “These militarized actions curtail democracy and are nothing less than an attempt to stifle the voices of those standing up for their heritage and their rights.”
