BREAKING NEWS: Police in riot gear arrest 47 Dakota Access protesters as they wipe out camp at controversial pipeline

[superbeets]

[h=1]BREAKING NEWS: Police in riot gear arrest 47 Dakota Access protesters as they wipe out camp at controversial pipeline[/h]

• Armed police raided the Cannon Ball camp at the Dakota Access pipeline on Thursday afternoon
• Forty-seven protesters who stayed despite earlier warnings to evacuate it were arrested in the raid
• By 2pm, the Oceti Sakowin Camp, as it is known, was completely cleared of its occupants
• Police flattened tents and camp sites using Humvees and diggers later in the afternoon after they had gone

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
PUBLISHED: 23:22, 23 February 2017 | UPDATED: 01:35, 24 February 2017

 

[superbeets]

Police in riot gear swept through a protester camp at the Dakota Access pipeline on Thursday, arresting 47 people and wiping out the makeshift homes they have occupied for months.
Fifty police in riot gear stormed the camp with the help of the National Guard and local sheriff's departments in Cannon Ball, North Dakota, at 12.30pm.
They arrested determined protesters who remained at the site despite a warning to clear it by Wednesday when activists set fires to their tents in a final act of defiance against law enforcement.
By 2pm, the Oceti Sakowin Camp was completely cleared of protesters and authorities began flattening what remained of their camp.
Forty seven were arrested in the raid, the Morton County Sheriff's Department confirmed.

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Police in riot gear swept through protester camps at the Dakota Access pipeline on Thursday, arresting 47 people and wiping the site clean of tents and signs

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A protester is arrested at the Oceti Sakowin camp in Cannon Ball, North Dakota, during police raids on Thursday

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A protester kneels before armed police who waved batons as they carried out the raid on Thursday afternoon

'Things went very smoothly. We are very happy with the operations,' she said.
Members of the Army Corps of Engineers, which owns the land where the camp was built, also began entering the site for cleanup efforts. By Thursday afternoon, heavy equipment was being used to tear down structures at the site.
'It's really hard being here right now but we know we need to be here because we know that they are wrong and we are right,' said Raymond Kingfisher, 59, a protester from Seattle, Washington.

 

[superbeets]

Some protesters were helping with cleanup efforts. Several buildings that were set on fire on Wednesday ahead of the deadline were still smoldering, sending acrid smoke across the camp.
Other protesters who stayed past the deadline said they were not afraid of another confrontation with law enforcement, which has clashed multiple times with demonstrators, resulting in more than 700 arrests.
'They have been pointing a gun at our head since day one, so the feeling of fear becomes pretty normal,' said Jeremiah Barnes, 24, a protester from Oregon who has spent the past five months at the camp.

 

[superbeets]

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50 police in riot gear stormed the site on Thursday after giving protesters until Wednesday to clear the area

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Forty seven protesters who remained at the camp site despite warnings from police to evacuate by Wednesday

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The squads of police arrived in riot gear to storm the sites on Thursday afternoon after months of protests from activists

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Dozens were arrested during the raids before police wiped the site clear of protesters' belongings

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A protester stands with a fist raised in defiance as police tear through the camp on Thursday afternoon

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A protester balances on a rock at the camp site in front of police dressed in riot gear before being removed

 

[superbeets]

Thousands poured into the protest camp starting in August to oppose the 1,172-mile (1,885-km) pipeline that Native Americans and environmental activists say threatens the water resources and sacred land of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.
But a push by President Donald Trump since he took office in January to quickly complete the $3.8 billion project has dealt a series of setbacks to those wanting to see the pipeline stopped or redirected from passing under Lake Oahe on the Missouri River.
The Army Corps of Engineers and Republican Governor Doug Burgum set a Wednesday afternoon deadline to clear the camp.
Energy Transfer Partners LP said Thursday that 99 percent of the pipeline is complete after receiving all necessary federal authorizations earlier this month.
Those in opposition to the pipeline used social media to generate widespread support from Hollywood celebrities, military veterans and politicians. During Energy Transfer Partners' earnings call on Thursday, one analyst said the project was 'probably a PR failure,' for the Dallas-based company.
'There is no way we can defend ourselves there,' Kelcy Warren, the chief executive officer of Energy Transfer Partners, said during the call.
'There was a mistake on my part,' he added. 'I underestimated the power of social media. I didn't realize people could just say things that aren't true and freely do it, but they did.'

 

[fletchisrhsm]

Must be nice to just squat and not have to work. Im not a huge fan of eminent domain but come on.

 

[Willie99]

where do these people who always seem to align with the Democratic Party find the time?

rhetorical question, they work as hard as the democratic base that gives them whatever power they have

we probably even paid for soup kitchens to deliver food to them