CANNON BALL, N.D. — Law enforcement officers dressed in riot gear and firing bean bags and pepper spray evicted protesters Thursday from private land in the path of the Dakota Access oil pipeline, dramatically escalating a monthslong dispute over Native American rights and the project's environmental impact.Very briefly:
In an operation that took nearly six hours, hundreds of armed state and local police and National Guard — some on foot and others in trucks, military Humvees and buses — pushed past burning barricades to slowly envelop the camp.
At least 117 people were arrested. No serious injuries were reported, though one man was hurt in the leg and received treatment from a medic.
Among those arrested was a woman who pulled out a .38-caliber pistol and fired three times at officers, narrowly missing a sheriff's deputy, State Emergency Services spokeswoman Cecily Fong said. Officers did not return fire, she said.
- Cannon Ball, ND has to be one of my all-time favorite datelines.
- Note the words "private land" in the article -- that's the lede.
- Peaceful protesters don't fire .38-caliber pistols.
- Burning barricades is an odd way to protect the environment -- this image from the AP tells the tale:
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| JAMES MACPHERSON – ASSOCIATED PRESS |
What I do know is the lefties on my social media feed are really angry about all this. This is a Holy Cause. So I guess we need to pay some attention.
6 comments:
I don't know what the issue is with thid event. What I do know is my general attitude toward any protest that involves Indians, and my first thought is always along the line of: take the feather out of your hair. You look like an idiot.
My first thought is to connect it with Clive Bundy and the nullification out in Oregon. Totally different protests, very different constituencies. But the government and the threat of violence around both of them. I'm curious about if there are connections, patches of common ground.
I dunno, Gino. From what I can tell, it’s the usual SJW crowd out there, with a few of the !!NRKY11!! types to provide a little mayhem — the dudes who like trashing stuff and wearing bandanas over their faces. While the plight of Native Americans is the subtext, I really think this whole thing is just another episodic spasm of the moral imperative du jour.
My first thought is to connect it with Clive Bundy and the nullification out in Oregon.
Could be. Have to study that one a little more.
I'm with WB. What's going on in the Obama era is that the agreement to "play by the rules" is going by the wayside--Dr. King's protesters did NOT burn barricades or shoot at Bull Connor, although Connor was IMO eminently more deserving of such treatment. Now we have people on both sides more or less saying "we WILL NOT abide by the ground rules." Not a good thing for our nation, really.
I'm with WB as well; land rights in the west, and the government's overreach, is becoming a flashpoint for both the "left" and "right". Following the Oregon jury nullification, the feds may seek other ways to suppress the public and enforce it's rule without involving a jury. Don't expect the media to get much of the story straight, from either side.
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