141 Dakota Access pipeline protesters arrested

Police in riot gear arrested at least 141 people near the Standing Rock Sioux reservation in North Dakota on Thursday, with charges including criminal trespassing, engaging in a riot, and conspiracy to endanger by fire, the Morton County Sheriff's Department said.

The protesters were blocking the path of the planned Dakota Access oil pipeline, which will stretch 1,172 miles. Native American demonstrators are worried the pipeline, which goes through an area they hold sacred, could contaminate the water, and they say they are reclaiming land that was given to the Great Sioux Nation in the 1851 Ft. Laramie Treaty, but later revoked. Temporary barricades the protesters set up were dismantled, and authorities say there is no one left at the encampment. Police showed up at the scene with military-style vehicles, including one meant to withstand roadside bomb explosions. While most protesters were peaceful, one did set fire to tires that were part of a barricade.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up