Police Pepper Sprayed By Anti-Pipeline Rioters
More troubling news from Standing Rock over the weekend with reports that anti-pipeline protesters pepper sprayed law enforcement officers responding to a compliant from a tribal citizen. In a statement, the tribal officials said police were called after protesters began blocking access to an individual’s home:
“From information provided thus far, we understand that a tribal citizen of the Cannonball community called the police due to individuals blocking road access to the caller’s home. When law enforcement arrived at the scene, officers were subsequently pepper sprayed by the individuals at the roadblock. This led to an altercation and arrests at the scene.”
The renewed violence follows a notice from Army Corps of Engineers informing protesters of the closure of Corps-managed federal property adjacent to the Cannonball River and the deployment of additional officers from the Bureau of Indian Affairs to help close protest camps within the Standing Rock Reservation boundary.