Central ND News

On this Date in 2016, eight people were arrested for illegal activities during protests over the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline.  

According to a press release from Morton County Sheriff’s, deputies responded to a dispatch call at 7:22 a.m. on Aug. 31, 2016, on reports of people crawling on construction equipment on the west side of Highway 6, south of St. Anthony.

When deputies arrived on scene, they observed about 50 protestors and 40 vehicles at the site, and then found two men bound to construction equipment. The two protestors secured their arms around the equipment and then covered their arms with what appeared to be a PVC pipe or casting type of material.

The Mandan Rural Fire Department was called to the scene to assist in extracting the protestors from the construction equipment. Deputies subsequently arrested several protestors who attached themselves various pieces of such equipment. Six of those arrested were from out of state. 

Around 11 a.m., deputies told protestors on the scene to move to a designated protest area approximately 100 feet from the construction site. Deputies arrested four people after they refused to clear the area.

“Deputies took every precaution to ensure the safety of the protestors who attached themselves to the equipment. Special equipment including harnesses and a bucket truck were brought in and utilized to prevent one of the protestors from falling when he was being removed. In addition, our deputies assisted the protestor in getting water when he was thirsty,” said Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier in the press release.

About 40 officers were involved in responding to the protest activities, including members of the Morton County Sheriff’s Office, Burleigh County Sheriff’s Office, Mandan Police Department, Bismarck Police Department and North Dakota Highway Patrol.

These are the eight individuals who were arrested that day:

• Jeremiah IronRoad, 25, of Cannonball, N.D. (secured to equipment) – criminal trespass, obstruct government function
• Dale “Happy” American Horse Jr., 26, of Sioux Falls, S.D. (secured to equipment) – prevent arrest, criminal trespass, obstruct government function
• Lisa Winter, 47, of St. Louis, Mo. (standing on equipment) – prevent arrest, disorderly conduct, criminal trespass
• Elizabeth Branham, 25, of Fair Oaks Ranch, Texas – obstruct government function, disorderly conduct
• Maxfield Estela, 26, of Edmonds, Wash. – obstruct government function, disorderly conduct
• James Ironeyes, 52, of Fort Yates, N.D. – obstruct government function, disorderly conduct
• Wicahpiluta Candelaria, 34, of Sanleandro, Calif. – obstruct government function, disorderly conduct
• Leeann Eastman, 37, of Sisseton, S.D. – obstruct government function, disorderly conduct

The Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) protests of 2016 and 2017 aimed to halt the construction of the reported $3.8 billion pipeline and “drew thousands of people to camp out” in Morton County, the Associated Press reported.

The protests resulted in 761 arrests, according to MPR News. Charges ranged from trespassing to more severe offenses. A significant number of those arrested were from out of state.

California resident and actress Shailene Woodley was arrested in October 2016. Other figures, including actors Mark Ruffalo and Leonardo DiCaprio, participated in the protests but were not arrested.

Certain days of the protests resulted in dozens of arrests, such as February 1, 2017, when 76 people were arrested after Morton County Sheriff’s Department spokesperson Rob Keller said a “rogue group of protesters” had trespassed on private property.

The State of North Dakota is currently suing the federal government to “recoup $38 million it claims it spent policing the protest camps,” Source NM reported.

Attorneys for North Dakota reportedly argued in court records that the protests “resulted from an illegal occupation on federal lands and led to ‘frequent outbreaks of illegal, dangerous, unsanitary, and life-threatening activity on federal, state and private property.’”

North Dakota Special Assistant Attorney General Paul Seby said in court that the aftermath of the protests “required a four-day cleanup of the camp and 600 bins to remove 9.8 million pounds of trash,” according to MPR News.

Former Morton County Commissioner Cody Schulz, who is now the director of the North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department, said in court that, “beyond the drain on law enforcement, the protests caused a range of impacts on Morton County — everything from minor inconveniences like sluggish traffic to damage to private property,” Source NM reported.

Energy Transfer Partners, the owner of the pipeline, has filed a $300 million lawsuit in state court against the environmental activist organization Greenpeace for its role in the protests. The suit says Greenpeace “should be held responsible for trying to disrupt pipeline construction and damage the company’s reputation and finances,” the Associated Press reported.

That lawsuit, and an attempted settlement, led to the recent ouster of Greenpeace’s Executive Director Ebony Twilley Martin, said the former Chief Operating Officer (COO) for Greenpeace.

Willem van Rijn, the group’s COO until April 2024, told E&E News that “Twilley Martin ‘advocated a way in which the organization would settle for a minor amount of money so that we could fight another day,’” and that the “board vehemently disagreed.”

Greenpeace last week launched a fundraising campaign to “raise awareness” of the lawsuit.

The lawsuit filed by Energy Transfer Partners in Morton County District Court is currently pending.