MANDAN, N.D., Jan. 17 (UPI) — The Morton County Sheriff’s Office said three people were arrested and taken to jail in Mandan, N.D., for attempting to reach the Dakota Access Pipeline’s horizontal drill pad.
Officials said about 200 people moved from the main protest camp, along the frozen Cannonball River, and headed north on the Missouri River on Monday at about 3:30 p.m. The protesters stopped and cut a fence long the Missouri River about 700 feet away from the DAPL’s drill pad, which is the starting point for the pipeline to go under Lake Oahe.
Local law enforcement and National Guard soldiers prevented protesters from entering the private property. The protest dispersed at about 7 p.m.
Police said three people were arrested where the Cannonball River and Missouri River meet and charged with criminal trespass, inciting a riot and resisting arrests. At least 589 people have been arrested since August over DAPL protests.
The proposed $3.7 billion pipeline would carry hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil from North Dakota oil fields to Illinois and then onto the southern U.S. coast. Some Native American tribes, including the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, launched protests against the 1,134-mile oil pipeline’s construction.
Protesters have said police used tear gas and other non-lethal methods to disrupt the demonstrations.
