Dakota Access pipeline camp cleared after officers arrest remaining protesters
Law enforcement on Thursday declared the Dakota Access pipeline protest camp in North Dakota officially cleared after officers went through the site and arrested the last remaining holdouts to a plan they say will destroy sacred land.
Thirty-three people were arrested in Thursday's operation, Lt. Tom Iverson of the North Dakota State Highway Patrol told reporters, although WKYR TV later reported authorities had upped that number to 36.
The operation took about 3½ hours. Officers methodically checked buildings and arrested anyone they encountered, including a man who climbed atop a building and stayed there for more than an hour before surrendering.
"Many months North Dakota has been dealing with this day in and day out," Iverson said.
He said he was not aware of any injuries to protesters or law enforcement. He said the protesters brought the arrests upon themselves.
"Unfortunately, they put themselves in that position, forcing us to make those arrests," Iverson said.
As the situation developed, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe posted on its Facebook page an announcement of a protest from March 7-10 in Washington, culminating in front of the White House. "The fight doesn't end," read the post announcing "Rise With Standing Rock: Native Nations March and Camp on D.C."
Meantime, in North Dakota, cleanup crews began razing buildings on the square-mile piece of property on federal land.
Most protesters left peacefully Wednesday when authorities closed the camp in advance of spring flooding, but some remained overnight in defiance of orders to leave.
Authorities gave them a last chance to leave Thursday before entering the camp. No one took up the offer, the Associated Press reported.
About nine people did take up an offer to take an "amnesty bus" and receive vouchers for food and hotel, Iverson said.