Those Dakota Access Pipeline Protesters in North Dakota who have the support of some Oklahoma Native American leaders, have until Monday to clear out from the federal land where they have made an encampment since last Spring. North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple has ordered them to immediately leave the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers land in Morton County or else face potential criminal charges.
For now, law officers indicate they will not go in and start removing the protesters. The governor indicated there was concern for the well being of the protesters with the approach of winter.
That didn’t resonate well with Standing Rock Sioux Chairman Dave Archambault II who questioned the governor’s motive.
“If the true concern is for public safety than the Governor should clear the blockade and the county law enforcement should cease all use of flash grenades, high-pressure water cannons in freezing temperatures, dog kennels for temporary human jails and any harmful weaponry against human beings.”
He called it a “clear stretch of state emergency management authority and a further attempt to abuse and humiliate the water protectors.”
The governor’s order came as a group called the Water Protector Legal Collective filed a class action lawsuit on Monday in federal court. It accuses law enforcement of using excessive force by spraying water cannons in freezing weather and firing rubber bullets at demonstrators on Nov. 20.
“The Morton County Sheriff’s office not only violates the constitutional rights of peaceful protesters, but their actions highlight the long history of abuse against indigenous peoples,” charged Brandy Toelupe, an attorney with the group.