DAPL Protesters Face Violent Arrests While Bundy Militia Members Are Acquitted

As a verdict was released in the Oregon standoff trial, protesters against the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota were attacked and arrested.

Two different hashtags were trending on Twitter Thursday night: #OregonStandoff and #NoDAPL. One hashtag refers to the attempted takeover of a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon by a family of ranchers; the other is an attempt to stop the destruction of sacred land and environmental resources. Both situations involve a clash between the United States government and private citizens over land ownership, but the way the government is treating the people involved is shockingly different.

Flags of Native American tribes from across the US and Canada line the entrance to a protest encampment near Cannon Ball, North Dakota where members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and their supporters have gather to voice their opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), September 3, 2016.

Drive on a state highway along the Missouri River, amid the rolling hills and wide prairies of North Dakota, and you’ll come across a makeshift camp of Native Americans — united by a common cause. Members of some 200 tribes have gathered here, many raising tribal flags that flap in the unforgiving wind. Some have been here since April, their numbers fluctuating between hundreds and thousands, in an unprecedented show of joint resistance to the nearly 1,200 mile-long Dakota Access oil pipeline. / AFP / Robyn BECK (Photo credit should read ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images)

The issue of the Dakota Access Pipeline, often referred to as DAPL, began in 2014 when the proposal was first made. The pipeline would span across four states — North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Illinois — for a total of 1,172 miles. It would carry nearly a half million barrels of crude oil every day before connecting with an existing pipeline that provides access to the Gulf of Mexico. The DAPL would also cross the Missouri River which serves as a resource for many communities, including the Standing Rock Sioux reservation.

By 2016, all four state governments had approved the DAPL and most of the affected landowners had granted permission for the necessary easements. While the government has dangled the promises of job creation and tax revenue to make the DAPL seem like a good idea, many residents of the affected regions are concerned about the damage to the land and the possibility of leakage. Among those residents are members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.Even though preservation laws require the consultation of federally recognized tribes in matters such as this, the Standing Rock Sioux were not included in any of the 150+ meetings involving the elected officials, community organizations, and the Dakota Access corporation.

A Native American protestor wears a shirt reading ‘My Voice Is My Weapon’ at an encampment where hundreds of people have gathered to join the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s protest against the construction of the Dakota Access Pipe (DAPL), near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, on September 3, 2016.

The Indian reservation in North Dakota is the site of the largest gathering of Native Americans in more than 100 years. Indigenous people from across the US are living in camps on the Standing Rock reservation as they protest the construction of the new oil pipeline which they fear will destroy their water supply.

/ AFP / Robyn BECK (Photo credit should read ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images)

In the Spring of 2016, the Sioux government, environmentalists, and landowners vowed to contest all efforts by the government to start the DAPL construction. Protesters started to gather and camp out on the proposed construction site. In spite of their efforts, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers gave the go-ahead to start on the pipeline. By the end of the summer, construction equipment arrived on site and workers started digging. That’s when the protests heated up.

Standing Rock Sioux Tribe officials filed emergency lawsuits and appealed to the United Nations to halt construction, but after being notified that construction would soon begin, the growing crowd of protesters refused to back down. Officials from the Standing Rock SIoux Tribe were arrested along with several others.

After Dakota Access employees began digging through sacred burial grounds, the situation escalated further. Law enforcement officers that were dispatched to the area arrested several more protesters, including journalists, many of whom had been attacked by police canines. Weeks later, a federal judge denied the request to halt construction of the DAPL, but that decision was overturned by the federal government. The Departments of Justice, Interior, and Army then issued a joint statement and ordered that the issue be put on hold until discussions about reform could take place.

Protesters remained determined as their numbers grew. They began chaining themselves to equipment in order to impede the construction process. Actress Shailene Woodley was arrested in North Dakota for participating in the protest and a warrant was issued for Green Party candidate Jill Stein. Actor Mark Ruffalo has also been instrumental in supporting protesters and outspoken in his opinions against the DAPL.

For the past several weeks, the situation has intensified, reaching yet another peak on Thursday night as police outfitted in riot gear launched attacks on the protesters. A man named Jesus Wagner posted a photo on Facebook showing a bruise from his eye to his chin that was caused by a rubber bullet. Another man, Alexander Kaul, reported that he had been shot in the head with a rubber bullet, resulting in a concussion. Other celebrities have joined Woodley and Ruffalo, including Leonardo diCaprio, Nikki Reed, and Jaden and Willow Smith.

Adding insult to injury, as the attacks on protesters in North Dakota were taking place, the Bundy ranchers were acquitted of criminal charges they were facing from a 41-day standoff in Oregon. From January 2, 2016 to February 11, 2016, Ammon Bundy led a small group of armed militia in a takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Their reasoning for the takeover was a protest of the treatment of two ranchers who had been convicted of arson. Bundy and his crew were demanding that the federal government turn over the refuge, challenging the government’s ownership of the land. In a display of white privilege, most of Bundy’s clan managed to survive the standoff with the exception of Robert LaVoy Finicum who was shot by police after he fired at them broke through a road block and nearly ran over an FBI agent with his truck, yelled “Shoot me!” at agents, and reached for a 9 mm gun inside of his coat more than once after being instructed to put his hands in the air. Oregon officials determined that the shooting was justified.

Of the 26 militants who were arrested on federal conspiracy charges, twelve plead guilty. On Thursday, Ammon Bundy, his brother Ryan Bundy, and five others were found not guilty on the felony charges. Proving just how classy this bunch is, their lawyer got into a verbal altercation with the judge over the terms of Bundy’s release which ended with the lawyer being tackled and tased by law enforcement.

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The DAPL situation is far from over. As I’m writing this, stories of police breaking a 14-year-old girl’s arm are appearing on Twitter, along with videos of protesters being pepper sprayed and armored vehicles rolling in to force protesters off of the land. As usual, there is very little coverage from mainstream media, and social media has become the primary source for photos, videos, and witness reports. Follow the #NoDAPL hashtag on various platforms to stay on top of this issue.