At least 140 protesters have been arrested after a day and night of protests that turned violent. Protesters fired shots in two separate incidents, striking one man in the hand. The Morton County Sheriff’s Department reported:
We have received reports of several incidents involving firearms.
1) Situation involved a private individual who was run off the road by protestors. The victim was shot in the hand and is being treated. An investigation in underway. No law enforcement was involved with this shooting.
2) At the front line on Highway 1806, a woman who was being placed under arrest, pulled a .38 caliber revolver and fired three shots at law enforcement, narrowly missing a sheriff’s deputy. She was taken into custody with no shots fired by law enforcement.
The woman who fired the shots was arrested. Police also reported that protesters were throwing Molotov cocktails:
Law enforcement arrest 141 protesters Thursday near Highway 1806. Officers met violence and resistance including a protester who fired a gun at officers in the police line, protesters who threw molotov cocktails at them and set vehicles and debris on fire.
Protesters set off a bonfire in front of a small bridge in an attempt to keep police at bay:
CBS News report provides some insight on how the protesters are feeling:
“Stand up, rise up, find your warrior spirit!” one protester chanted…
Activist Jonathan Edwards was on the front lines.
“Jonathan, how does this end?” [CBS News Barry] Petersen asked.
“We win. They don’t build this pipeline and these guys [indicating the police] get charged with human rights violations for the way they’ve been treating people,” Edwards said.
Here’s CBS News video report. It provides information on the conflict and the pipeline but never mentions that the camp protesters recently set up is on private property owned by the developer.
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