Feds Order Dakota Pipeline Protesters to Leave -- or Face Prosecution

Don't look for apologies from the North Dakota sheriff leading the response to the Dakota Access oil pipeline protests, especially for the recent — and, in some circles, controversial — action against demonstrators who he believes have become increasingly aggressive.

 

"We are just not going to allow people to become unlawful," said Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier, a veteran of the North Dakota Highway Patrol and National Guard who was elected to his first term as sheriff about two years ago. "It's just not going to happen."

 

More than 525 people from across the country have been arrested during months of protests over the four-state, $3.8 billion pipeline, all here in support of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe that's fighting the project because it believes it threatens drinking water and cultural sites on their nearby reservation.

 

His department's job of policing the protesters — the vast majority who've been camping on federal land that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says it will close in December for safety concerns — has cost the county more than $8 million, even with help from the state Highway Patrol and officers from various states. Their tactics, however, have drawn criticism from Standing Rock's tribal leader as well as protest organizers and celebrities.