21 Protesters Arrested At Dakota Oil Pipeline Sites
Follow CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook | Twitter
MANDAN, N.D. (CBSMiami/AP) — Law enforcement authorities in North Dakota say 21 people protesting at two construction sites of the Dakota Access pipeline have been arrested.
The Morton County Sheriff's Office says the individuals were arrested Wednesday on charges including resisting arrest, criminal trespass on private property and possession of stolen property.
The sheriff's office says officers responding to the sites near the community of St. Anthony found several people and horses on private property.
The agency says an officer had to raise his weapon "containing less-lethal ammunition" after a protester on horseback charged at him. The officer wasn't injured.
Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier says the charging horse combined with the rest of the situation presented an "imminent threat" to the officer.
The statement says 95 people have been arrested in recent weeks since protests began months ago over the four-state, $3.8 billion pipeline.
Earlier in the week, the company developing the four-state Dakota Access oil pipeline purchased a portion of the historic North Dakota ranch. Violent protests occurred earlier this month due to what tribal officials said was construction crews destroying burial and cultural sites.
Morton County records show Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners purchased 20 parcels of land on the Cannonball Ranch totaling more than 6,000 acres from David and Brenda Meyer of Flasher. Financial terms of the deal, which was finalized Thursday, were not disclosed.
The Meyers did not return telephone calls Thursday or Friday seeking comment. Energy Transfer Partners confirmed the purchase Friday but declined to provide further details.
The ranch, which is more than a century old and was the first to be inducted into the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame, is within a half-mile of an encampment on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' land where the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and hundreds of others are gathered to protest the pipeline. The tribe says the pipeline, which is slated to cross Lake Oahe, a Missouri River reservoir, threatens its water supply and violates several federal laws.
Corps records show Meyer pays $4,865 annually for exclusive grazing rights at the encampment site, a five-year lease that ends in 2018.
The purchase of the ranchland will allow ETP to better access its construction sites and the pipeline, when it is finished.
On Sept. 3, protesters and private security guards clashed after construction crews removed topsoil across an area about 150 feet (46 meters) wide stretching for 2 miles (3 km) on the ranch. The incident came one day after the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe filed court papers saying it found several sites of "significant cultural and historic value" along the pipeline's path.
Authorities said four security guards and two guard dogs were injured; the tribe says protesters reported that six people had been bitten by security dogs, and at least 30 people were pepper-sprayed. There were no law enforcement personnel at the site when the incident occurred.
The tribe, whose cause has drawn thousands across the globe to join their protest, has challenged the Army Corps of Engineers' decision to grant permits for the $3.8 billion, 1,172-mile (1886 km) pipeline that would ship North Dakota crude through South Dakota and Iowa to Illinois.
A federal appeals court last week ordered a halt to construction within 20 miles on either side of Lake Oahe. The Departments of Justice, Army and Interior also has said it would "reconsider any of its previous decisions" on land that borders or is under the lake, one of six reservoirs on the Missouri River.
The Obama administration said Friday that it has invited leaders from 567 federally recognized tribes to participate in a series of consultations aimed at getting input on infrastructure projects. The meetings, scheduled from Oct. 25 through Nov. 21 in six regions of the U.S., will focus on "meaningful" tribal input into infrastructure-related decisions and the protection of tribal lands, resources and treaty rights. New legislation to promote those goals also will be considered.
Records show the Meyers purchased about 2,400 acres of the ranch in 2013 for $3.2 million; that land makes up half of the sale Thursday. Financial terms between ETP and the Meyers do not have to be disclosed under state law because the land has been reclassified from agriculture to industrial, the state Tax Department said.
Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem has given Energy Partners 30 days to say how the land will be used. North Dakota law generally bars corporations from owning agricultural land unless the property is controlled by a farm family, though there are exceptions.
(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)