More news on the Dakota Access Pipeline / Standing Rock, but this time from a commercial news source. WDAY / WDAZ reports on Nov 20:
There were about a dozen fires set near the Backwater Bridge and Turtle Island Red Warrior Camp.
About 100 – 200 demonstrators were still on scene, as of 1 a.m. Monday.
One law enforcement officer was hit on the head with a rock.
There are no reports of any protesters being injured.
Officers say they have had rocks thrown at them, burning logs, and rocks from slingshots.
The report also mentions rioting. Meanwhile, Rob Port on SayAnythingBlog.com brings a more conservative viewpoint about the incident:
“The incident began around 6 p.m. Sunday evening, when protesters removed a truck that had been on the bridge since October 27th, when protesters set two trucks on fire,” the release continues.
The trucks, which you can see in this picture, have been serving as a roadblock after the bridge was closed over safety concerns after fires set by protesters damaged it.
“North Dakota Department of Transportation has closed the Backwater Bridge due to damage caused after protesters set numerous fires on the bridge October 27th. In addition, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has requested Morton County to prevent protesters from trespassing on USACE land north of the camp,” the release states.
A #NoDAPL sympathizer also live streamed video claiming that law enforcement was using “water cannons” against the protesters. But then, we often see wild and inaccurate claims made against law enforcement by this movement. If water cannons are being used against the protesters it would be the first time that tactic has been deployed.
It seems more likely that the cops are just trying to put out the fires set by the protesters, doesn’t it? Anyway, it’s remarkable how often the protesters attack law enforcement and then play the victim when law enforcement responds as you would expect them to.
In another post Rob notes:
The #NoDAPL protesters squatting on federal land – areas under the control of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – has been one of the big bones of contention these last several months. Protesters claim they have a right to be on that land, despite the Corps having leased the grazing rights to a private individual, because it’s traditional Sioux territory not ceded in the Fort Laramie treaties.
Law enforcement point out that they are not permitted to use the land under the laws today, and that the camps they’ve established have been used as launching pads for violent rioting..
The federal government, for its part, has refused to do anything meaningful about the situation. The Corps tolerates the illegal camps – the Corps issued a special use permit weeks after the camps were already started – and assistance from federal law enforcement authorities to keep law and order have been almost non-existent.
