Tag: law enforcement

The Laney Files: September 2016

The partnership between state law enforcement and private security firm TigerSwan begins

By C.S. Hagen
FARGO – Internal documents obtained by the High Plains Reader from the Cass County Sheriff’s Department reveal a disturbing familiarity between state police chiefs and sheriffs with TigerSwan’s analysts and upper echelon.

In early September 2016, oil magnates, private security personnel, and law enforcement cooperated in creating a “rhythm” for moving the Dakota Access Pipeline forward – together.

Four days after security dogs were brought to the front line on September 3, 2016, TigerSwan’s first situation report, on September 7, 2016, made public by The Intercept, stated the private security firm’s initial intentions: to create a clear SOW, or scope of work, to empower a PAO, or strategic command public affairs officer to tell the world that “we [DAPL] are the good guys,” and establish rules for the “Use of Force” for all security elements involved.

“Giddy up”
TigerSwan, a security firm with an extensive background in counterterrorism operations in the Middle East, worked quickly. The day of the attack dogs had attracted too much criticism from media outlets around the world, which echoed 1960s civil rights abuses in Birmingham, Alabama. The elusive security firm had much ground to cover and an agenda to solidify: protect the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL).

By September 10, 2016, Michael Futch, manager of the Dakota Access Pipeline construction project, currently working with Energy Transfer Partners, began contacting sheriffs around the state, including Mercer County Sheriff Dean Danzeisen, in emails entitled “Operations Planning.”

The plan was moving forward, according to an email forwarded by Danzeisen. On September 12, 2016, another TigerSwan situation report stated that the firm had met with Danzeisen, and had agreed to the “sharing of information.”

“Tomorrow evening you are authorized to release Precision to continue working towards Highway 6 just south of St. Anthony under three conditions,” TigerSwan’s Gary Winkler wrote to Danzeisen later that same day.

Winkler’s conditions in the email stipulated police needed to share written information and scatter sheets with Sweeney on a daily basis. “We need them every evening to plan the next day’s kickoff (starting tonight).

“Using those plans, Shawn Sweeney is able to communicate effectively and timely with law enforcement on a daily and hourly basis. We will avoid any confrontations with protestors, and no dogs are to be used.

Danzeisen, using a private Gmail account, forwarded the demands on to sheriffs and one police chief:

  • Williams County Sheriff Scott Busching, who oversaw county law through the Bakken’s most recent oil boom, resigned his post in April 2017 after 18 years.
  • McKenzie County Sheriff Gary Schwartzenberger, colloquially known as the “terrorist sheriff,” who was suspended from office due to “misconduct, malfeasance, crime in office, neglect of duty or gross incompetence,” along with harassment and intimidation for fostering a “quasi-military environment.” North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum reinstated Schwartzenberger in August 2017, which sparked controversy. Six officers of the McKenzie County Sheriff’s Department left, three in one day, and another officer was fired, according to media reports.
  • Cass County Sheriff Paul Laney, a former Marine who ran point on the ground during much of the Dakota Access Pipeline controversy. Laney, president of the North Dakota Sheriffs and Deputies Association, also serves on the board of directors for the North Dakota Association of Counties. He is currently in his third term as an elected peacekeeper, but decided recently that he will not run again.
  • Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier, who was the head of law enforcement operations during the Dakota Access Pipeline, coordinated hundreds of law enforcement officials from dozens of agencies across the United States.
  • Stutsman County Sheriff Chad Kaiser feared for his life when he claimed the helicopter he was in was attacked by arrows and buzzed by a drone, according to media reports.
  • Mandan Police Chief Jason Ziegler, a former Marine who served in the Gulf War, became Mandan’s police chief in 2015.  

Danzeisen is the author of an October 2016 letter to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch and others, claiming Standing Rock activists were armed, hostile, and engaging in training exercises for conducting violence.

“Fall to pieces”
The morning of September 14, 2016 started off with a picture from TigerSwan’s senior vice president, Shawn Sweeney, to Danzeisen. It was a photograph of a Native American holding a drum in one hand and speaking into a handheld radio with the other. The picture was taken at 8:58am, and was sent to Danzeisen seven minutes later through Sweeney’s smartphone, according to email time logs.

Mercer County Sheriff Dean Danzeisen

The fusion between TigerSwan and local law enforcement agencies began before September 12, 2017, according to TigerSwan’s internal situation reports. The timing is confirmed by an email entitled “Protesters in your county,” from Laney on September 14, 2016, to sheriffs involved in the controversy.

“Hello gents,” the email began. “I was asked by DAPL security to drop you a quick line to let you know that earlier today their security personnel in each of your counties were approached by people who identified themselves as protesters of the pipeline, and they wanted to know where they could find the pipeline in your counties.”

DAPL security in North Dakota included companies such as Leighton Security Services, LLC, established in 2011 in Honey Grove, Texas, and 10 Code Security, established in 2010 in Bismarck, and TigerSwan, hired by Energy Transfer Partners as the “fusion leader.”

Stutsman County Sheriff Chad Kaiser

“The protesters that have been doing this aren’t the typical protesters on Standing Rock,” Laney’s email continued. “These protesters, while having some natives mixed in with them, are mostly white hippies. They are the more radical of the groups here and have been the ones attaching themselves to equipment.

“I was told that DAPL security in your area was going to reach out to you directly, but I wanted to give you a heads up in advance.”

From the onset, one goal of TigerSwan was to create dissension within the camps. TigerSwan analysts described a sense of urgency in attempting to obtain information, which was at best difficult, a September 22, 2016 informational report stated.

“As the protester security gains additional knowledge of security tactics and operations, the ability to gather information about planned protests will diminish,” the summary portion of the report stated. “Information control within the camp, despite causing dissension, makes any internal-source information difficult to acquire.”

Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier

TigerSwan personnel have years of experience working in counter-terrorism in MENA, or the Middle East and North Africa, West Africa, and other places, according to its website, and the arrival of a small group of Palestinians at the camps disturbed the security firm’s analysts.

“Furthermore, the presence of additional Palestinians in the camp, and the movement’s involvement with Islamic individuals is a dynamic that requires further examination. Currently there is no information to suggest terrorist-type tactics or operations; however, with the current limitation on information flow out of the camp, it cannot be ruled out.”

The cooperation extended beyond DAPL security and law enforcement, according to an email from Michael Futch. Instructions at times originated from Energy Transfer Partners and were sent to TigerSwan personnel, which were then forwarded to law enforcement.

Futch spoke for Energy Transfer Partners in an email on September 14, 2016. In the email, he rained praise on Billy Lambeth, construction manager for “Spread 09,” the pipeline route near Williston, and warned law enforcement of upcoming threats.

McKenzie County Sheriff Gary Schwartzenberger

“Protesters are organizing right now based on what intel Billy has picked up,” Futch wrote in the email entitled “Security in Spread 09.” “Right now he has a security lead on site, and as far as I know we do not have a risk assessment from security and with today’s intel we are now in a rapid response mode.”

Futch continued the email, saying that so far, Spread 09 had been lucky, flying “under the radar,” but Lambeth needed assistance.

“Now that we see a threat, I’m requesting that you make an attempt to work directly with Billy to make sure that safety of workers and continuity of work can be maintained,” Futch wrote. “Billy has a wealth of experience working in dangerous environments, both domestic and international.”

Futch made two requests of law enforcement: first, that threats identified by DAPL security be communicated through Lambeth’s chain of command, and second, to know locations of all law enforcement and security and develop a plan for handling protest activity and evacuation.

Roads needed closing as well, Futch wrote, an idea he mentioned 40 days before Highway 1806 was shut down by law enforcement.

Cass County Sheriff Paul Laney

Under a different email group entitled “Operations Planning,” Futch wrote to Danzeisen, carbon copying Leighton Security Services, TigerSwan personnel, and another DAPL construction manager, asking for police escorts for “unusual loading needs.”

Danzeisen acknowledged 50 minutes after Futch’s email was sent, saying the QRT, or Quick Response Team leader, and himself, needed to be present in order to coordinate staffing and give the “tribe notice so we don’t have a repeat of interference by protester groups.”

Futch agreed. “Make sure to write it up in an email and I will forward to law enforcement and to Precision management to reinforce the expectation. One of the reasons I chose Tuesday. No last minute changes until we are all together.”

“Mike, it is imperative upon the development of the plan that Rick and PPL follow the plan,” Danzeisen responded. “Otherwise it will fall to pieces.”

Precision Pipeline, LLC, or PPL, is a company headquartered in Wisconsin, and was one of the companies awarded contracts to lay pipe by Dakota Access Pipeline, LLC, according to the Pipeline & Gas Journal.

Police gather for a photo opp before a roadblock setup by activists, reports differ on who set the debris on fire – photo provided by online sources

Hit lists
Activists fighting the Dakota Access Pipeline – also known as water protectors – had hit lists, and doxxed police officers, officials report.

The North Dakota State and Local Intelligence Center, or NDSLIC, reported 10 incidents of surveillance tactics used against law enforcement officials from August 21, 2016 until September 4, 2016.

On September 29, 2016, a surveyor on DAPL Spread 6 named Luther Body was also threatened through Facebook messaging services, according to an email sent to Energy Transfer Partners by Dan Junk, of Wood Group Mustang, an energy engineering company in Canada, and then forwarded to authorities.

Law enforcement also made their own list entitled “Groups of Interest.”

Early intelligence was based primarily on Morton County tips from social media, and sighting of individuals of interest including libertarian Nathan Seim, Gabriel Black Elk, and Winona LaDuke, according to an unclassified report compiled by the NDSLIC.

The NDSLIC is the states government’s eyes and mouthpiece, whose mandate is to gather, store, analyze, and disseminate information on crimes, both real and suspected, to law enforcement, government, the community, and private industry regarding drugs, fraud, organized crime, terrorism, and other criminal activity.

The NDSLIC listed media outlet Unicorn Riot, in top place, Native Lives Matter, United Urban Warrior Society, Urban Native Era, Gavin Seim for Liberty, American Indian Movement, Rez Riders, Indigenous Environmental Network. Analysts pointed out Winona LaDuke, founder of Honor the Earth, and Gabriel Black Elk of Native Lives Matter, among others.

“NLM is very similar to Black Lives Matter,” the NDSLIC report stated. “They are often seen mixed in at Black Lives Matter events. NLM is many times more vocal about violence by law enforcement on social media… Many of the issues that NLM focus on pertain to custody deaths and police use of force up to deadly force on Natives.”

LaDuke, an environmentalist, economist, and writer, who ran for Vice President of the United States as the Green Party candidate, stood in the NDSLIC’s crosshairs because she was well known and frequently addressed the needs of the Native environmental movement, desiring to break up the geographical and political isolation of Native communities, and to increase their financial resources.

The NDSLIC also listed Canada’s Idle No More, and the Nation of Islam, under “Groups of Interest.”

“Critical infrastructure” needing protection in the state included the Northern Border Natural Gas Pipeline, which runs adjacent to the Dakota Access Pipeline, the Basin Electric transmission line, North Dakota Highway 1806, Cannon Ball River Bridge, or Backwater Bridge, and the South Central Regional Water District Intake and Treatment Plant.

Law enforcement echoed Energy Transfer Partners’ intent to block off Highway 1806, declaring it a vital access to the “flow of commerce and emergency responders to and from Standing Rock Indian Reservation.

“There is potential for barricades to be setup on or near the bridges to prevent travel of either law enforcement/emergency responders (by protestors) or protesters (by law enforcement),” analysts reported.

Well armed police prepare to clear an area – photo provided by North Dakota Joint Information Center

FW: ***URGENT PRIORITY: Threat of Upcoming Violence this Weekend***
On September 29, 2016, at 11:59am, TigerSwan issued an “urgent priority” report claiming upcoming violence for the following weekend. The threat assessment came from Ashley L. Parsons, a former analyst in TigerSwan’s Houston office, and was sent to TigerSwan personnel in North Dakota, including Kyle Thompson, according to emails.

Thompson is the former Leighton Security Services employee who was carrying an AR-15 automatic assault rifle, the kind used in most mass murders, and was disarmed by activists after reportedly driving a pickup truck at high speed toward the main camp on October 27, 2016, the day the North Treaty Camp was overrun by law enforcement.

Ashley Parsons, the former TigerSwan analyst, switched jobs in April 2017, and began working for National Oilwell Varco, Primerica, according to her LinkedIn profile. She reported seven years active duty military experience in various fields including providing intelligence to private industry, global security, and the oil and gas industries, according to her LinkedIn profile. She has functional knowledge of crisis management and response, counterterrorism, counterintelligence, and strategies to counter a “broad range of threats.”

Parsons also self-reported she has active Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information clearance.

Sweeney sent Parsons’ information to Danzeisen, who forwarded the email to the group of sheriffs. From there, the scare gained credence; the digital trail led to Lynn Woodall, a captain in the Morton County Sheriff’s Department.

“DAPL Security Intel has passed along the following information,” Woodall wrote to 28 recipients.

The next morning at 7:19, Morton County’s Emergency Manager Tom Doering forwarded the same information to 116 others involved in law enforcement, and game wardens, postal service agents, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Criminal Investigation, NDSU police, U.S. Attorney’s Office National Security Intelligence Specialist Terry Van Horn, and other organizations in North and South Dakotas, and Montana.

“Team,” Woodall wrote. The rest of the email was the same content as TigerSwan’s original email. “We have just received information concerning violent protesting that will occur this weekend against DAPL employees. This information was conveyed to us as an imminent threat. Source did not authorize disclosure of identity. Please push this out as urgent to your external networks, i.e. FBI, Homeland Security, even friends of those networks, etc. and really anyone else you feel would be instrumental for rapid-fire collections.”

Sixteen days before the threat assessment was disseminated, Morton County reported 60 activists, including former Standing Rock Sioux Chairman Dave Archambault, had been arrested. By October 13, the numbers arrested slowly swelled to 123, and ten days later arrests skyrocketed to 269.

Nothing, however, happened during the weekend TigerSwan was worried about.

Guardhouse of the Oceti camps blaze – photo by C.S. Hagen

A court meeting
Officials made a careful list of all who attended a meeting between Standing Rock and law enforcement representatives at the Morton County Courthouse. Archambault requested the meeting, but was unable to attend, and sent Greta Baker, Virgil Taken Alive, John Eagle Shield, and Lee Plenty Wolf in his stead.

The representatives were worried about security dogs used by DAPL security teams. Law enforcement, represented by Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier, Cass County Sheriff Paul Laney, US Marshal Paul Ward, Major General Alan Dohrmann, and Jake O’Connell of the FBI, said the dogs had no connection to law enforcement, and belonged to DAPL’s private security.

When asked why police did not interfere with private security, Kirchmeier responded, saying law enforcement lacked the manpower to do anything, but monitored the situation to “make sure it did not escalate.”

Morton County Sheriff press releases at the time reported DAPL security personnel were injured, but made no mention of activists being bitten. Dogs, according to Angela Bibbens, the camp attorney at that time, bit at least six activists.

Law enforcement denied any knowledge of yellow helicopters flying around the camps, saying they must belong to DAPL’s private security, according to court paperwork.

Direct answers were rarely given during the meeting. Law enforcement asked why children were placed close to front lines, to which Standing Rock representatives answered, saying children, as direct stakeholders, had a right to participate.

Among other topics discussed during the meeting, cultural differences became one Standing Rock representatives attempted to clarify.

“The Representatives claimed that certain statements to the press were inaccurate and asked that LE [law enforcement] verify claims before passing them along to the media,” the court paperwork reported. “The Representatives also explained that carrying a small knife to use as a tool was culturally expected behavior for males among many Indigenous peoples, and should not be assumed to be threatening. Further, among some, a male would be considered less of a man if he was not carrying a knife to use as a tool.”

DAPL Front lines – photo provided by Johnny Dangers

Don’t tell the Indian
Included in documents obtained from Cass County Sheriff’s Department is a Dakota Access Pipeline Project plan for unanticipated discoveries along the pipeline route. Discoveries included cultural resources, human remains, paleontological resources, and contaminated media.

The plan was to be implemented across all lands in North Dakota, regardless of ownership, but not one mention is made throughout the five-page instructional of the request to notify Indigenous cultural liaisons or qualified personnel of culturally relevant findings. If such items as charred spots, arrowheads, stone artifacts, human remains, or paleontological resources were discovered, the sightings were to be reported to archaeologists affiliated with the Secretary of Interior’s Qualification and Standards, or the State Historical Society of North Dakota, within 48 hours.

“Flag the buffer zone around the find spot,” the instructional compiled by Dakota Access Pipeline reported. “Keep workers, press, and curiosity seekers away from the find spot. Tarp the find spot. Have an individual stay at the location to prevent further disturbance until a qualified archaeologist has arrived.”

Other findings, such as contamination including buried drums, discolored soil, chemical or hydrocarbon odors, oily residues, were to be reported to DAPL Project Environmental Manager Monica Howard.

Dakota Access Pipeline retained Alpine Archaeological Consultants, Inc. and Matthew J. Landt, as the company’s archaeologist, and listed Paul Picha, chief archaeologist with the North Dakota State Historical Society, as another option.

In September this year, Energy Transfer Partners wired $15 million to the state-owned Bank of North Dakota to help with the $43 million the state borrowed to end the resistance camps against the Dakota Access Pipeline. Dakota Access Pipeline personnel also returned to the state earlier this year to hand out paychecks worth hundreds of thousands to first responders in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Iowa.

Citing pending litigation issues, law enforcement agencies refused to comment on questions pertaining to their involvement with TigerSwan.

 

DAPL cases dropped by state in record numbers

Defense lawyers: TigerSwan infiltration and police entrapment should be recognized by courts

By C.S. Hagen
MANDAN – After being handcuffed, forced to strip, locked in dog cages, and hauled to jails across the state, hundreds charged with crimes during the Dakota Access Pipeline controversy are finding vindication through North Dakota’s court system.

Officially, 761 people were arrested during the months-long opposition to the 1,172-mile Dakota Access Pipeline, and already 114 cases have been dismissed by the state. Eleven people received guilty verdicts; 50 pled guilty – primarily on lesser charges, and three have been acquitted.

The state cannot meet the elements of offenses as charged, defense lawyers say.

“In an attempt to extract guilty pleas, the state is waiting to dismiss each case until the last minute before trial, which has created great hardship and uncertainty for many water protectors,” Water Protector Legal Collective attorney Jacob Reisberg said in a press release. “The No-DAPL water protectors withstood extreme violence from militarized police at Standing Rock and now the state admits that it cannot substantiate the alleged justification for that violence.”

While the Morton County Sheriff’s Department reported 761 people were arrested, the Water Protectors Legal Collective reports the actual number is higher: 854.  

A total of 552 cases remain open, Water Protectors Legal Collective staff attorney Andrea Carter said. Last weekend, one of activists involved in arguably one of the most controversial cases also had charges against him dropped.

Less than a week after former Leighton Security Services project manager Kyle Thompson went live on Digital Smoke Signals to speak about his experience working security along the Dakota Access Pipeline route, the state dropped charges against Brennon Nastacio, charged with a Class C felony of terrorism.

Nastacio, 36, a Pueblo Native American nicknamed “Bravo One,” was charged for his participation in stopping Thompson, who wielded a semi-automatic AR-15, on October 27, 2016.

On June 14, Assistant State’s Attorney Gabrielle Goter of Morton County filed a motion to dismiss the charge, which came days before the scheduled deposition of North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation Special Agent Scott Betz, who was instrumental in Nastacio’s prosecution. Depositions were also scheduled for two FBI agents involved in the transfer of Thompson for BIA custody to the Morton County Jail, and for Thompson, according to Nastacio’s lawyers Bruce Nestor and Jeffrey Haas.

“This was a case where Mr. Nastacio acted to protect himself and others,” Nestor and Haas said. “He should have been thanked and not prosecuted for his bravery.”

“The feeling is good,” Nastacio said. “Now I just need to concentrate on my other case.”

Nastacio was indicted on February 8 on federal charges of civil disorder and use of fire to commit a federal crime, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office District of North Dakota.

Michael Fasig and Israel Hernandez also face felony charges over the same incident. Class C terrorizing charges carry up to a five-year prison sentence.

Myron Dewey, “Strong Thinker,” Paiute Shoshone – wet plate by Shane Balkowitsch

Other salient cases include the state dropping charges against drone operator and owner of Digital Smoke Signals, Myron Dewey, and rap artist Aaron Sean Turgeon, also known as ‘Prolific the Rapper.’

U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland recently agreed to the conditional release of Redfawn Fallis to a halfway house from where she’s being held in Rugby. Fallis’s arrest, which was filmed live, has become one of the movement’s most viewed recordings. Police say she discharged a handgun while being tackled by law enforcement. Officially, Fallis was charged with criminal possession of a firearm or ammunition by a previously convicted felon, according to the United States Attorney’s Office District of North Dakota.

Another reason the state is dropping cases en masse is because of evidence the camps were infiltrated by TigerSwan operatives, who were on a mission to “find, fix, and eliminate” pipeline opposition, according to Nastacio’s lawyers.

“TigerSwan worked closely with law enforcement to infiltrate the camps, produce pro-DAPL propaganda, and aid prosecutions. TigerSwan acted in a supervisory capacity over Leighton Security, Thompson’s employer.”

Aaron Sean Turgeon ‘Prolific the Rapper’ (right) – Facebook page

“As we’re learning that there was some kind of infiltration by either the FBI or TigerSwan, or both, we think it should become an issue in the cases that the state should have to prove that some of those people who were engaging in that kind of activity were law enforcement or infiltrators,” Carter said.

“That’s what is getting debated in a lot of these cases, is presence,” Carter said. “There are entrapment issues. Five or more people must be engaged in a riot. If you have one of those five as law enforcement or as an infiltrator, and the state is alleging that someone is setting fires or throwing stuff, what if one of the people present was an infiltrator, and everyone else at the demonstration was peaceful or sitting in prayer, and you have one person instigating who wasn’t even part of that group?”  

Bennon Nastacio – Facebook page

During standoffs along the frontlines, police also gave contradictory warnings. Activists were told to leave an area immediately, and then given a different order to pick up items or clean up an area before leaving, which resulted in many people becoming trapped, Carter said.

“They would say ‘go,’ and as people were running to their cars, police were tearing them out of their vehicles. It’s incredible the amount of force they were met with.”

Former City Attorney for Valley City, Russell Myhre, who is now practicing law privately at his office in Valley City, is defending four people against the Dakota Access Pipeline.

“I have never seen delays like this,” Myhre, who has been practicing law for nearly half a century said. “Even in high profile cases, there was always this contact with prosecution and the court. Here, there appears to be no reason whatsoever, and I don’t know why they’re not dealing with speedy trials.”

The Dakota Access Pipeline controversy reminds Myhre of the Vietnam War era, he said, which polarized the nation instantly until the mid-1970s when the contention simmered and people began to realize that perhaps, the Vietnam War was not one of the nation’s brightest moments.

Red Fawn Fallis – online sources

“I think this Dakota Access Pipeline is tearing North Dakotans apart,” Myhre said. “North Dakota was a god-forgotten outpost in the United States for many years, but they have found out that maybe they have sold their soul to big oil, and maybe, there is a dark side to this, and they’re just now starting to realize this.”

The lack of speedy trials is a legal tactic defendants can consider, he said. “A trial is scheduled within 90 days after demand for a speedy trial. It could be thrown out by the trial court or appealed to the North Dakota Supreme Court, or it could be brought to federal court for denial of due process and the denial of a right for a speedy trial.”

There is potential that cases could be reopened and appealed, even if found guilty under North Dakota Century Code post-conviction relief laws, Myhre said. The law is a substitute for habeas corpus – after being convicted a defendant can come back in and allege their rights have been violated.

“I think the system is overwhelmed,” Myhre said. “One of the other things is that prosecutors and law enforcement are realizing this is not going the way they wanted it to. Not many are coming forward pleading guilty.”

And law enforcement records are lacking, he said. “Most of these officers did not write up personal reports, which is standard practice. Most of these officers did not write up anything, it was left to one officer in charge of writing things up for everyone.”

Money is another contributing aspect as to why cases are being dropped faster than hot potatoes. The state was denied reimbursement for the $38 million spent during the controversy by the federal government last week. Days later, Energy Transfer Partners, the parent company of Dakota Access LLC, offered, once again, to pay the bill.

To compound the issues a federal judge ruled on July 16 that permits authorizing the pipeline to cross the Missouri River less than one mile from the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation violated the tribe’s fishing rights, hunting rights, and environmental rights.

“There’s something funky going on in the background,” Myhre said. “And I just don’t know what it is. A lot of it may have to do with TigerSwan and the manipulation of the media. In North Dakota, unless you were a Native American or an extreme liberal, many people were anti protest.

“We’re living in strange times.”

Since the last Standing Rock camp was cleared in February, TigerSwan kept roving teams active in North Dakota until earlier this month. The security company left North Dakota last week, Energy Transfer Partners personnel reported. The security company hasn’t left the oil business, however, and has set up shops along the Mariner East 2 Pipeline, which runs through Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Mariner East is also owned by Energy Transfer Partners.

In November 2016, TigerSwan LLC obtained business licenses for the three states, according to state registration records, but its private security license is under review in Louisiana by the Louisiana State Board of Private Investigator Examiners. The Louisiana Secretary of State reports TigerSwan, LLC was established in Lafayette on June 1, 2017.

“It is worth exposing in a court of public opinion, this is who law enforcement is working with, and this is exactly who TigerSwan is, and do you want these cultural things perpetuated domestically?” Carter said. “They [TigerSwan] manufactured some of these instances, they didn’t like the surveillance. They just didn’t want to be under surveillance.”

Standing Rock Trapped, Hundreds Injured At Backwater Bridge

One woman’s arm nearly blown off, activists report, authorities receive no verified reports of injuries

By C.S. Hagen
BACKWATER BRIDGE – An all-night battle at Backwater Bridge between police and Standing Rock activists left hundreds injured, according to camp medics.

Morton County Sheriff’s Department has reported it planned to remove a blockade on Highway 1806, but has done nothing for three weeks, Tara Houska, national campaigns director for Honor the Earth, said. Instead, when activists attempted to move the blockade, they were met with potentially deadly force.

“They did say they were going to remove the blockade because it’s a huge public health concern that blocks the major highway going to the Standing Rock Sioux reservation, but still have not moved it,” Houska said. “So the camp went up to move it, and this was their response.”

Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Chairman Dave Archambault II said the blockade is unnecessary, and condemned Morton County’s responses. “What water protecters wanted to do was open up that access, they started to move a vehicle that was burned off that bridge and law enforcement came with some aggression that we haven’t seen before,” Archambault said.

“They need to be held accountable, that’s not happening in this case because it feels like law enforcement is taking orders from Dakota Access Pipeline and Energy Transfer Partners.”

Law enforcement used high-powered water cannons in sub-freezing weather, teargas, pepper spray, concussion grenades, and shot rubber bullets, according to live video feeds made available by Kevin Gilbertt. A new line of razor wire and angled hedgehogs, iron traps to impede movement, were stretched along the front line. Activists used prayer and traditional ceremonies to oppose the Dakota Access Pipeline, according to activists, but police reports say activists hurled stones and burning logs.

“These are lethal weapons now,” Archambault said. “We have wounds where people got shot in the face with projectiles or whatever they’re using. That is a lethal act. They’re putting people’s lives at risk now.”

Law enforcement in padded riot gear faced the stones, burning logs, and rocks fired by slingshots, and one officer was reportedly injured after being hit in the head with a rock, according to Morton County Sheriff’s Department. Approximately a dozen fires were set near Backwater Bridge and Turtle Hill, according to press releases.

Activists made fires for warmth after being hosed down with cold water, and not acts of civil disobedience, according to activists. According to Gilbertt’s video feed – watched by more than 2 million people – activists extinguished grass fires caused by exploding tear gas canisters and concussion grenades. A total of 20 people were taken to hospital emergency rooms, two elders were treated for injuries, more than 160 people were treated for blunt force trauma, hypothermia, and the effects of tear gas, according to Houska. One person lost consciousness and CPR was used to resuscitate the injured person.

“We found an incredibly brutalized response by police to try and clear a public road,” Tara Houska said. “There are photos coming out right now of a woman who had her arm nearly blown off her body. It looks like live ammunition.”

(Graphic) Injured woman with arm nearly blown off (face blurred to protect identity of victim) - photo provided by Keven Gilbertt

(Graphic) Injured woman with arm nearly blown off (face blurred to protect identity of victim) – photo provided by Keven Gilbertt

Morton County Sheriff’s Department said Monday morning that no reports “can be verified of protesters that were injured.”

Some activists sang “Love Will Find A Way” and danced while being hosed in sub-freezing temperatures. Others ran for the gas canisters, belching smoke, and threw them to the sides. Teargas fired over the activists’ line and water sprayed directly into the crowd’s front trapped hundreds on Backwater Bridge. Some involved passed out, others vomited; reports were also made public about people urinating in their clothing because of the effects from pepper spray and tear gas, according to activist reports.

“I watched them use high pressure hoses to soak the crowd in 27 degree weather,” activist Evan Ulibarri from California said. “I also witnessed a beautiful human I had met the day before get shot in the face with a rubber bullet. Blood oozing from the gash in her face, all while she cared about helping me deal with the effect of tear gas burning my lungs and face. I saw women and children, innocent, peaceful, trapped, attacked, and hurt.”

front-lines-at-standing-rock-video-footage

Front lines at Standing Rock – video footage

Teargas irritates the mucous membranes of the eyes, nose, mouth, and lungs. The burning effects begin about 30 seconds after inhalation, can cause difficulty breathing, chest pain, excessive saliva, and skin irritation. Many activists who were hit described the sensation as an uncontrollable release of fluids from the eyes, nose, and mouth, making one blind.

“Law enforcement is currently involved in ongoing riots on Backwater Bridge, north of the protest camp in Morton County,” Morton County Sheriff’s Department reported. “Protesters in mass amounts, estimated to be around 400, are on the bridge and attempting to breach the bridge to go north on Highway 1806.”

Pictures of injuries stemming from Sunday nights activities - photo provided by Steve Gross

Pictures of injuries stemming from Sunday nights activities – photo provided by Steve Gross

Morton County Sheriff’s Department reported the action was “very aggressive,” and that activists engaged in organized tactical movement attempting to flank and attack law enforcement’s western line. By 8:30 p.m., one person was arrested, which raises the total number of activists arrested to 489. “In order to keep protesters from crossing the bridge, law enforcement have utilized less-than-lethal means, including launching CS gas.”

The fight began at approximately 6 p.m. Sunday when activists hauled the wreckage of a truck off Backwater Bridge. One burned-out vehicle, which was placed by law enforcement on Backwater Bridge on October 27, remains, according to activists.

“It’s starting to cause a grave concern for everybody,” Archambault said. “They’re starting to use water cannons in temperatures that are below freezing. These water cannons were used, Morton County Sheriff’s said, to put out fires. We have reports as well as video where the water cannons were used directly on human beings, and this is with temperatures below freezing.”

By mid morning Monday, the fight was ongoing. Neither side gained any ground. “There aren’t any violent interactions going on right now, but the police are all there,” Houska said.

Officials deem Backwater Bridge unsafe for travel. The Indigenous Environmental Network has condemned Morton County’s inaction for not clearing Highway 1806, adding 30 minutes to travel time to and from the camps to the nearest hospital.

“North Dakota Department of Transportation has closed the Backwater Bridge due to damage caused after protesters set numerous fires on the bridge October 27,” Morton County Sheriff’s Department reported. “In addition, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has requested Morton County to prevent protesters from trespassing on USACE land north of the camp.”

Archambault said reports Backwater Bridge is damaged are not true, and an excuse for law enforcement to block Highway 1806. 

Since October 27 when law enforcement evacuated the northern Treaty Camp, repeated attempts have been made by activists to reach Dakota Access Pipeline’s drill pad, surrounded by ditches and a 15-foot tall HESCO bastion topped with razor wire, less than a mile north of Oceti Sakowin, or the Seven Council Fires camp. The drill pad sits less than a quarter of a mile from the Missouri River. Horizontal drilling equipment has arrived, according to drone footage released by media outlet Digital Smoke Signals. A promise the company made two weeks ago that workers would begin drilling under the Missouri River at Lake Oahe has reached its deadline.

Woman hit in head by "less-than-lethal" ammunition - photo provided by Steve Gross

Woman hit in head by “less-than-lethal” ammunition – photo provided by Steve Gross

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has still not issued the easement needed for Dakota Access Pipeline to dig under the river. North Dakota Highway Patrol has stated that if Dakota Access Pipeline begins drilling without the proper permits, workers will be arrested, and construction will be shut down.

“I don’t know if they’re actually boring, but it wouldn’t surprise me,” Archambault said. “I do know they told the Army Corps of Engineers that they’re going to start drilling whether or not they have the easement. It’s very possible they are drilling right now.”

The Standing Rock Medic & Healer Council called upon Morton County Sheriff’s Department to “immediately stop the potentially lethal use” of force late Sunday night.

“The physicians and tribal healers with the Standing Rock Medical & Healer Council call for the immediate cessation of use of water cannons on people who are outdoors in 28F ambient weather with no means of active rewarming in these conditions. As medical professionals, we are concerned for the real risk of loss of life due to severe hypothermia under these conditions.”

North Dakota Human Rights Coalition organizer Berry Nelson said he is appalled at Sunday night’s violence.

“I think from the very beginning this has been over militarized, in my opinion,” Nelson said. “I just feel that the level of response for all practical purposes appeared to be peaceful protest, some civil disobedience, there’s no question about that, but the level of response, the escalation has occurred up to this point almost exclusively on the authority’s side.”

Police are not the ones who should be held responsible for the escalation in militarization and violence at Standing Rock.

“I keep saying I don’t think it’s the people on the ground responsible, it’s the people making decisions at the top that should be held responsible for this escalation. They also have it within their means to do something, to go down and talk this through and deescalate the situation, and they consistently refuse to do that. And that shows a lack of leadership, and it’s unconscionable.”

One-sided discrepancies exist, Nelson said, in media reports, in police reports, and with state leaders.

Concerning police reports, Nelson said it wasn’t only activists starting fires. “The discrepancy that I’ve seen in the reporting is that police were saying protesters were starting fires, and I see in the other reports that police launched flares that started the fires.”

The North Dakota Human Rights Coalition is in contact with Amnesty International asking for more on-the-ground observers. Additionally, Nelson believes state legislature and leadership are ignoring native input.

Another example pertains to the next “Eggs & Issues” meeting set for early December and organized by the Fargo, West Fargo, and Moorhead Chamber of Commerce, when Lieutenant Governor Drew Wrigley, Public Service Commissioner Julie Fedorchak, and Cass County Sheriff Paul Laney plan to discuss the Dakota Access Pipeline.

“They have no native representation on that panel,” Nelson said. “We’ve called on them to reconsider how they’re presenting this issue to business leaders here in the community. We’ve heard nothing in response to that. They’re having Drew Wrigley, Julie Fedorchak, and Paul Laney to present the whole story.

“I think it’s indicative 500 years of history, there isn’t more – well, there is growing national outrage, but it really hasn’t gotten legs until recently as well – it’s just really indicative of how we’ve treated indigenous people since their beginning.”

Chamber President and CEO Craig Whitney said the Chamber meeting is for informational purposes only, and that the Chamber long ago publicized its position for supporting pipelines.

“We’re still working on this, I think this has kind of taken a bizarre turn or twist, because this was never an event for a discussion on talking about whether or not we should have a pipeline or should not have a pipeline,” Whitney said. “It’s a discussion to let people know, from the lieutenant governor and the state’s point what really is going on out there.

“People have kind of twisted this to say that somebody should have a native present to debate if we should have a pipeline or not.” The meeting is not to arrange policy, but to inform the public about “what is really going on” at Standing Rock.

The monthly event is set for Tuesday, December 6 at 7:30 a.m., and is sponsored by companies such as Wells Fargo, Sanford Health, Xcel Energy, Cornerstone Bank, Bremer Bank, and costs USD 30 in advance, and USD 45 at the door.

 

 

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