Central ND News

The executive director of North Dakota Businesses United (NDBU) said the “residual impact” of the Dakota Access Pipeline protests of 2016 and 2017 “is division.”

The state of North Dakota is currently suing the federal government in an attempt to recoup $38 million in damages resulting from law enforcement costs and property damage during the protests. 

“Though my business in East Bismarck was over 50 miles from the protest site, we at times were required to ‘shelter in place,’ meaning we had to lock the doors during business hours when a large group of protesters would arrive by bus (as the depot was only a couple blocks from our business) and authorities were unclear on their motives and intentions,” Jan Wangler, co-owner, with her husband, of Superior Glass, Inc., told Central ND News. “Out of state family members were completely gaslit by the legacy media, causing very heated discussions around the subject.”

“The residual impact on our community is division,” said Wangler. “Those who bought the narrative through their televisions, were ‘inconvenienced’ by having a longer route in order to gamble on the reservation, just south of the site and then those who saw it for what it was - an exploitation of a few by a well–oiled propaganda machine that sought to wreak havoc and incite chaos where it never would have thrived or even existed without it.” 

NDBU is a coalition of business owners advocating on legislation impacting the business community. The organization provides members with updates on legislation, hosts bi-annual meetings, and coordinates networking and educational opportunities. 

Wangler and her husband, Tom, started Superior Glass, a full-service commercial and residential glass company, in 2001. The company offers services including glass installation, repair, and replacement for both commercial and residential clients. 

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.

In the State of ND's suit against the federal government, attorneys for the state 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.