Demonstrators sit on a closed bridge across from police protecting the Dakota Access oil pipeline site next to the Oceti Sakowin camp where people have gathered to protest the pipeline near Cannon Ball, N.D., Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2016.
Photo Credit: David Goldman/AP
Veterans Stand for Standing Rock plans to arrive at the reservation Sunday and stay for four days. Much of the trip will be funded through a GoFundMe.com page that as of Thursday afternoon had raised nearly $780,000 of its $1 million goal.
The main protest camp, Oceti Sakowin, has grown significantly since the summer and is on federal land. Citing cold and wintry weather, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has said all federal lands north of the Cannonball River — the camp included — will be closed to public access on Monday and Gov. Jack Dalrymple issued a mandatory evacuation of the camp, though both have said that protesters will not be forcibly removed.
Police have made about 575 arrests since August during clashes along the pipeline route and in a couple of North Dakota cities. Protesters have complained about excessive force by law enforcement, including the use of water hoses during last month’s confrontation in 30-degree weather. Another protester suffered a serious arm injury during that altercation, although it’s not clear what caused the blast.
Stabler is especially upset that the vets’ protest is slated to culminate on the anniversary of the attacks on Pearl Harbor.
“It is an insult to the remaining World War II veterans from North Dakota,” said Stabler, whose group represents more than 55,000 North Dakota veterans who are members of the American Legion, AMVETS, Disabled American Veterans, Veteran of Foreign Wars, and Vietnam Veterans of America.
Also Thursday, the Morton County Sheriff’s Department, which has been in charge of much of the law enforcement’s response to protesters, released a video of a veteran who is critical of the Veterans Stand for Standing Rock.
Raymond Morrell, a U.S. Marine veteran, wants to know why veterans who have taken an oath to uphold the Constitution would participate in what he considers an unlawful protest.
“Veterans within the state North Dakota, we really question that as to where their cause truly is,” he said.
