A group of 2,000 veterans are planning to intervene on behalf of protesters trying to block the construction of the Dakota Access pipeline in North Dakota.
The group Veterans Stand for Standing Rock plan to assemble at the Standing Rock Native American Reservation next week after the Army Corps of Engineers plans to officially close areas of the protesters’ encampment on Dec. 5.
The Army Corps says it is shutting down the site to protect the activists from the harsh North Dakota winter but will not take action to forcibly remove them. The protesters, led by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, have vowed not to leave.
North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple, a Republican, ordered the protesters to evacuate the land, citing harsh winter weather and safety concerns. Like the Army Corps, he said he would not forcibly remove protesters if they decided to stay.
The veterans would be part of a nonviolent intervention to defend the protesters from what they see as “assault and intimidation at the hands of the militarized police force.”
Clashes between police and protesters got tense just before Thanksgiving, with police using water cannons to repel hundreds of protesters in sub-freezing weather while pelting them with rubber bullets. One activist was hospitalized and faces the possibility of losing an arm.
“We’re doing this to support our country so let’s do it with honor, working together,” organizers for the veterans said on Facebook. “We can stop this savage injustice being committed right here at home. If not us, who? If not now, when?”
The vets, who comprise all ages and many wars, are set to be well funded, according to the contributions that have come in from an online GoFundMe.com fundraising campaign. The target of the campaign is $1 million, and as of Wednesday stood just shy of $660,000.
