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Standing Rock Protestors Gassed and Attacked; Bundy Gang Acquitted [Updated]

posted by martyb on Sunday October 30 2016, @11:26AM   Printer-friendly
from the peaceful-protest-vs-armed-protest dept.

-- OriginalOwner_ writes:

Catholic Online reports

On Thursday [October 27], the Bundy gang of ranchers who took over a federal building in Oregon and led a 41-day standoff were acquitted on all charges. At least five of the seven surviving militia members will now walk free from federal custody as a result. Ammon Bundy will not be released however because he still faces charges in Nevada over the standoff at his father's ranch two years ago. His brother, Ryan Bundy also remains in custody. An eighth member of their gang was killed by police when the standoff drew to an end.

[...]The Bundy gang also staged their occupation on sacred Native American land. This cannot be condoned; it would be like legitimizing the armed takeover of a parish church.

[...]At the same time the Bundy gang was being acquitted, heavily armed paramilitary-police moved into the crowds at Cannonball, North Dakota gassing and arresting protesters. The key difference in this case is [that] the protesters in North Dakota are peaceful and unarmed.

[...] During Thursday's protest, a fire broke out at the site and police moved in with riot gear and military-grade armored vehicles. They attacked the crowd with tear gas, a sound cannon, batons, and bean-bag ammunition. Police are evicting the protesters by force to make way for the pipeline's construction. Protesters have built barricades to keep authorities at bay.

Peoples World continues

[Continues...]

Encampment at Standing Rock cleared; over 140 arrested

Police and those present at the #NoDAPL protest encampment yesterday say that protesters have been cleared from the northern camp along the Cannon Ball River near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota. News reports say over 140 people were arrested, and officers used pepper spray against protesters but no serious injuries were reported.

Beginning at 11:15 am MT [PDF], officers moved toward a group of people camping out near highway 1806 near the town of Cannon Ball, ND. According to the Associated Press, some of the officers were in riot gear, some were armed, and they arrived with soldiers driving trucks and military Humvees. They also deployed helicopters and an airplane that monitored them from above.

The Federal Aviation Administration began restricting flights over the area on Tuesday afternoon [October 25], and will continue to do so until Nov. 5, according to the FAA website, which cites "hazards" in the area.

The police operation came the day after the Morton County Sheriff's Department asked protesters to leave the land, [PDF] which is in the path of the Dakota Access Pipeline under construction.

Additionally, over the last several weeks, over 140 "water and land protectors", as those protesting the building of the Dakota Access oil pipeline call themselves, have been arrested during police raids. The mainstream media has remained relatively mum about the human rights violations that have been unfolding at Standing Rock, where the construction of the multi-billion dollar funded Dakota Access Pipeline is underway.

[...] Frustrations continue to rise as [a] media blackout continues.

[...] Many have voiced outrage over the selective coverage being given by the media to such a critical issue.

Update:

Last week, Energy Transfer Partners, the company constructing the Dakota Access Pipeline, voluntarily stopped work at the building site just North of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.

The Army Corps of Engineers has confirmed that the company doesn't have a written easement from the agency to build on Corps property. A Corps spokesperson says that Energy Transfer Partners has filed the paperwork for the easement but it's still under review.

Previous Coverage:
Ammon & Ryan Bundy Arrested in Oregon; One Dead in Shootout with Cops
Militia Occupies Federal Building in Oregon After Rancher Arson Convictions

Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 30 2016, @11:20PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 30 2016, @11:20PM (#420700)

    Similarities to the violent police actions which broke up the peaceful Occupy assemblies have been noted in this (meta)thread.
    With the multi-state coordination involved, once again, there were federal officers involved in the planning and execution of this attack on peaceful protesters.

    Indigenous Environment Network reports [commondreams.org] via Common Dreams

    Police from 5 States Escalate Violence & Shoot Horses to Clear 1851 Treaty Camp

    At approximately 11am, over 300 police officers in riot gear, on 8 ATVs, 5 armored vehicles, 2 helicopters, and numerous military-grade Humvees showed up north of the newly formed frontline camp just east of Highway 1806. The 1851 Treaty Camp was set up directly in the path of the pipeline, on land recently purchased by Dakota Access. Yesterday this camp, a reclamation of unceded Lakota territory affirmed as part of the Standing Rock Reservation in the Ft. Laramie Treaty of 1851, was violently cleared. Both blockades established to enable that occupation were also cleared.

    Pepper spray, percussion grenades, and shotguns were fired into the crowd with less lethal ammunition. A sound cannon was also used (see images below). At least one person was tased and the barbed hook lodged in his face, just below his eye. Another was hit in the face by a rubber bullet.

    [...]A member of the International Indigenous Youth Council (IIYC) whose wrist was broken during a mass-arrest on October 22nd was hurt again after an officer gripped her visibly injured wrist and twisted it during an attempted arrest. At least six other members of the youth council verified that they had been maced up to five times and were also shot and hit with bean bag rounds.

    [...]Two medics giving aid at front line were hit with batons and thrown off the car they were sitting on. Police grabbed another medic who was driving a car out of the driver side while it was still in motion. Another water protector had to jump into the car to stop it from hitting other people.

    Members of the horse nation herded around 100 buffalo from the west and southwest of the Cannonball Ranch onto the the DAPL easement. One rider was reportedly hit with up to four rubber bullets his horse was reported to be hit in the legs by live rounds. Another horse was shot and did not survive.

    [...]Law enforcement from at least five states (North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wyoming, Nebraska) were present today through EMAC, the Emergency Management Assistance Compact. This law was passed by the Bill Clinton administration and allows states to share law enforcement forces during emergencies. It is intended for natural disasters and has only been used twice for protests; once in the summer of 2015 during the demonstrations in Baltimore and here on the Standing Rock Reservation.

    [...]Eryn Wise of the International Indigenous Youth Council stated, "Yesterday more than half of our youth council were attacked, injured, or arrested. In addition to our brothers and sisters being hurt and incarcerated, we saw police steal our sacred staff.

    -- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]