The protests led by Native Americans against the Dakota Access oil pipeline in North Dakota hasn’t been costly just to the owner of the pipeline. And records show many of the protesters are out-of-staters and a large number have criminal records.
Now the Morton County Sheriff’s office estimates that it has cost the state and local governments $22 million since last August to ensure public safety around the protest site. Some 91 in-state agencies and 33 out-of-state agencies have provided support.
Most of the 581 protesters who were arrested over the past several months were not from North Dakota. The Morton County sheriff’s office indicated that 94.5 percent are from other states and of those arrested, 182 have criminal records.
