militarized police

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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.”

Old Glory and the "shroud-like" image in the flag, activists marching out of the Oceti camps - photo by C.S. Hagen

The Final Standing Rock

February 23, 2017 / CSHagen / 0 Comments

Former Oceti Sakowin Camp cleared, 47 arrested, some flee across river to Sacred Stone Camp

By C.S. Hagen
CANNON BALL – Twenty hours before the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ deadline to evacuate the Oceti camps, the thunder beings arrived.

And geese returned home a month or more early.

Signs, activists say, like the the herded buffalo that charged near law enforcement in November 2016, or the golden eagle who perched for hours on a nearby fence, that nature is listening.

On the final day for the Standing Rock camps’ fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline, native songs and flames filled the air. No tears, many smiles, for their cause – to protect water and indigenous rights – had just begun, activists said.

First structures set ablaze at the Oceti camps February 22 – photo by C.S. Hagen

“People on the ground are doing the right thing,” long time activist and attorney Chase Iron Eyes said. Lightning streaked in the horizon as he spoke.

“They are surrounding us on all sides, not only by the United States military the Army Corps, but by the National Guard, by Morton County Law Enforcement, by every small town and county in North Dakota, and by private DAPL mercenaries. But add to that there are federal Indian police that answer to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which answers to the Department of the Interior, and used to answer to the Department of War, and now those federal Indian police answer to President Trump.”

Shiyé Bidzííl, a Standing Rock Sioux activist, has spent many of the winter months at the Oceti camps. He experienced difficulty live feeding one hour before the Army Corps deadline of 2 p.m. Wednesday, and climbed out of the floodplain onto Highway 1806 – where law enforcement kept journalists and legal observers at bay – to get better reception.

“All this stuff we’re doing to Mother Earth here is very wrong,” Bidzííl said. “And in the end, it’s not DAPL, it’s not Morton County, it’s not the water protectors who will have the last say so. All these beings are signs, we’re talking about the thunder beings, the eagles, it’s here. It’s right before our eyes.”

Shiyé Bidzííl, a Standing Rock Sioux, prepares to leave an hour before deadline – photo by C.S. Hagen

Behind Bidzííl, another tipi burst into flames. In all, more than 20 structures including tipis, tents, and makeshift homes were burned to ash. Each flame burst was preceded by an explosion. Two people, a seven-year-old boy and a 17-year-old girl were burned, and had to be transported by the Standing Rock ambulances to local hospitals, according to the North Dakota Joint Information Center.

“This camp might be burning down, but this is just the beginning of it,” Bidzííl said.

Camp structures were burned not for vengeance, Bidzííl said, but for cleansing.

“It’s a way of leaving a place that we’ve held so long here, and burning down a structure is a part of that ceremony of leaving things. Burning. Burning all the prayers, all the traditions, all our fights, courage, bravery, strength, all going up in flames. Everything we do here means something.”

Burning their tents activists have called home for months, is also their way of giving back to nature.

“Burning your camp, burning your tipi, burning a place you’ve called home, because the enemy is coming in to attack you, and we don’t want them touching anything. We don’t want them coming into our tipi and our home. So what do we do? We burnt it. And for us we’re burning it back, let it go back to its natural state of being.”

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

South on Highway 1806, across the Cannon Ball Bridge, busses and state-sponsored travel-assistance packages worth $300 were waiting for anyone who wanted to leave.

Activists at Oceti entrance while fires rage behind them – photo by C.S. Hagen

No one volunteered, Highway Patrol Lt. Tom Iverson said. The services, which included a hot shower, food, taxi money, and a bus ticket home, were going to be available until 5 p.m. Thursday, according to the North Dakota Joint Information Center.

Jennifer Cook, a legal observer from the North Dakota ACLU was worried about being stuck behind cement barricades, hundreds of meters away from the camps.

“We are only here to observe actions, we’re not here to protest, we’re only here to record what we see and what we hear,” Cook said. She has seen an improvement in police responses since Governor Doug Burgum took office.

“Our hope is our access will continue, and that we will be able to ensure that this is a peaceful and safe removal of any water protectors that choose to stay in the camp past the two o’clock deadline.”

Shortly before 2 p.m. deadline, a group of at least 60 activists paraded from Oceti’s front entrance to where a United Nations College bus waited to escort them away. Many were covered in mud, their possessions were meager. Some wore plastic bags to protect themselves from stinging snowflakes. Burning sage and hugs accompanied drumbeats as water protectors – now friends – said their farewells.

Old Glory and the “shroud-like” image in the flag, activists marching out of the Oceti camps – photo by C.S. Hagen

Across the Cannon Ball River, however, a handful of up to 100 activists refused to leave. Morton County Sheriff’s Department reported 10 people were arrested on Wednesday. Law enforcement did not infiltrate the camps as sundown approached. International journalists from the New York Times, Fox New, CBS, ABC, and local reporters from the Bismarck Tribune, and the Grand Forks Herald lined up like Civil War gentry awaiting a spectacle behind a serpentine wall as the clock struck 2 o’clock.

More than 100 police officers from counties and cities – Fargo to Kenmare – including the Wisconsin Sheriff’s Department, planned to “ceremoniously arrest” activists, Iverson said. A ceremonious arrest is a staged event meant to show law enforcement’s restraint, but the arrests accompanied real trespassing charges, Iverson said.

“It’s not going to end today,” Iverson said. “There are multiple camps.”

Law enforcement also wanted to inspect every dwelling in search of possible crime scenes including missing persons or drugs, Iverson said. Setting fire to structures was hindering police investigations.

“It’s hypocritical to say it’s about clean water when things are on fire and things are exploding,” Iverson said.

Early morning Backwater Bridge and snow – photo by C.S. Hagen

Earlier on Wednesday, Burgum’s policy advisor, Levi Bachmeier, asked camp wellness director Johnny Aseron for permission to allow armed police with cleanup crews into the camps before the deadline.

“Armed or unarmed?” Aseron said. “While we are in a cleanup day we’re going to have armed officers in the camp?”

The offer was refused. The cleanup crews were turned away, according to Iverson. Early Thursday morning the North Dakota Joint Information Center reported no major movements from either law enforcement or the activists remaining in the camps. Law enforcement plans to raid all camps on Army Corps lands, but not the private land at the Sacred Stone Camp.

Camp leaders also requested a “Geneva space” at the southern end of the Oceti camp for those who wanted to peacefully resist. Their offer was accepted by the governor’s office until 2 p.m. Wednesday.

Activists said law enforcement were fearful, they, however, were not.

“Fear,” Bidzííl said. “A wonderful, beautiful, chaotic way of explaining everything. We can use fear to fight fear. I allowed myself to be put into that situation in order to rid the fear in me.

“We got people heading out, we got people with prior felony warrants who are making that choice today to stay here or get out of camp and protect the knowledge and keep it going.”

Bidzííl planned to leave by the 2 p.m. deadline, and head to Iowa to continue the fight against pipelines. Last December, he recalled being threatened by locals in Bismarck while trying to check into a hotel.

Tipis and structures burned for a reason – photo by C.S. Hagen

“They terrorized me a lot, but little did they know… all my fear came out of me. I’m not scared to go and do anything or say anything, because it is my right.” He was threatened by locals in Bismarck last December while trying to check into a hotel.

Since President Trump’s executive orders to expedite the Dakota Access Pipeline, and the Army Corps’ sudden issuance of the final easement under the Missouri River under Lake Oahe, less than one mile from the Standing Rock Reservation’s border, Bidzííl has frequently heard the DAPL equipment digging.

“There’ more power in ourselves when we show we can stand up to the fear, the racism, and the terrorizing.” His experience at the camps, which have stood in resistance to big oil interests since April 2016, have united hundreds or tribes across the world, and was at one time North Dakota’s tenth largest community, has changed him, he said.

Activists salute at the front entrance of Oceti camps – photo by C.S. Hagen

“There’s so much militarized force here, but that’s how much fear they have in them,” Bidzííl said. “They have to show their superior force to make them feel okay with themselves.”

He knows all about the indigenous struggles, and how Native Americans have been given more than a “bad shake” since the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie.

“You know what’s different about it this time? They created something that creates fear in their eyes so much, and that’s called water protectors. We’re here to protect water, but at the same time we’re here to protect what’s right in this world.”

Law enforcement cleared the former Oceti Sakowin Camp by 2:09 p.m Thursday, arresting 46 activists who refused to leave the main camp area, according to the North Dakota Joint Information Center.

“The past two days have gone very smoothly in a challenging environment and complex effort to clear the camp,” Burgum said in a press release. “Dozens of local, state, and federal agencies showed tremendous coordination to ensure the prices was conducted safely and securely.”

No less than lethal force was used during the overtaking of the former Oceti Sakowin, the North Dakota Joint Information Center reported. A group of veterans occupying a tent refused to leave voluntarily, but would exercise passive resistance resulting in law enforcement carrying them out.

One activist waited for police on a rooftop. Approximately 60 activists fled to the frozen Cannon Ball River, and many others escaped to Sacred Stone Camp, which is on private land and was not to be cleared, according to government spokespeople.

As of February 21, the North Dakota National Guard accounted for 35,412 man hours spent guarding road blocks and assisting police, and 1,421 guard members were called for duty throughout the controversy, according to the North Dakota National Guard. The North Dakota National Guard spent a total of $8,752,232 during the months after former Governor Jack Dalrymple called a state of emergency in August 2016.

Veteran who spoke to police on behalf of an elderly woman in the camp being arrested – photo provided by North Dakota Joint Information Center

Activist being arrested – photo provided by North Dakota Joint Information Center

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

Law enforcement entering former Oceti Sakowin Camp – photo provided by North Dakota Joint Information Center

Officials Storm Treaty Camp, Some Activists Fight Back

October 27, 2016 / CSHagen / 0 Comments

Molotov Cocktails, bridge burning, and activists say DAPL security fired weapon into crowd

By C.S. Hagen

CANNONBALL – One footstep at a time, law enforcement pushed activists south of their “line in the sand,” overrunning the “Treaty Camp,” and arresting 117 by early evening.

Approximately 250 activists held firm, singing native songs, burning sweetgrass and tobacco, against heavily armed law enforcement. Some chained themselves to approaching machinery. Others yelled back at an officer on a megaphone, who, according to the Indigenous Environmental Network, was telling activists to “stop fighting amongst themselves” and to “stop shooting arrows even if they were fake.”

Law enforcement entering “Treaty Camp – photo by Margaret Landin

By late afternoon, at least one activist was shot with a Taser in the face, activists reported; others were sprayed with pepper. By nearly 5 p.m., activist and medicine maker Sacheen Seitcham, of the West Coast Women Warrior Media Cooperative, was hit in the chest and in the knee by beanbag rounds fired by law enforcement, she said on her Facebook page. By 6 p.m., Seitcham reported law enforcement started throwing percussion bombs and smoke grenades. Shortly after 6 p.m., Seitcham reported two trucks were on fire, and Governor Jack Dalrymple reported the camp was cleared. Nearing 7 p.m., activist Francine Podenski reported that her 15-year-old nephew who had been shot off his horse was missing.

Nearing 8 p.m., activists started two fires on the Backwater Bridge, and are throwing Molotov Cocktails at law enforcement, the North Dakota Department of Emergency Services reported. Activists reported that a DAPL security employee shot at them with an AR15, the employee’s vehicle was overrun and burned.

“I’m standing here in front of tanks and armed police,” Seitcham said, “and they are advancing on us and trying to run us down. They almost ran an elder over.

“They say they don’t want to hurt us, but we don’t believe them. We’re making our stand for clean water.”

The North Dakota Department of Emergency Services reported one private person was run off the road and shot in the hand, and a woman who was being placed under arrest pulled a .38 caliber revolver and fired three shots, narrowly missing law enforcement officials. A total of ten shots were reported in the area, according to Amy Fong, public information officer for the North Dakota Department of Emergency Services.

The camp’s clearing day came one day after Hollywood movie star and activist Mark Ruffalo visited the site.

Militarized police prepare to enter “Treaty Camp” – photo by Sacheen Seitcham West Coast Women Warrior Media Cooperative

“You have a corporation and a state who’s working on behalf of a corporation to hurt our people. They’re militarized,” Ruffalo said to CNN. “This is not an emergency, this is not a national emergency. These are peaceful protesters.”

The company was asked weeks ago to voluntarily stop construction by the federal government and President Obama, and yet it hurries toward the Missouri River. “And Governor Dalrymple of North Dakota, if there’s blood on anyone’s hands, it’s on his hands.

“Let me tell you that people are really getting hurt there. It’s scary,” Ruffalo said.

By midafternoon, Humvees and other armored vehicles had infiltrated “Treaty Camp,” which is land the activists reclaimed on Sunday, October 23 under their own eminent domain actions. The land formerly belonged to the Cannon Ball Ranch, and was sold quietly to Dakota Access Pipeline, Morton County Sheriff’s Department reported. The purchase was a move some Peace Garden State officials deem questionable. DAPL crews are closing in quickly on the easement along the Missouri River, and although the U.S. Corps of Engineers has yet to give the oil company permission to construct on their lands, Kelcy Warren, Energy Transfer Partner’s CEO, has sworn repeatedly that the pipeline will be built on time.

Activists were resolute in not giving an inch of ground, but they were slowly pushed back. By 6:30 p.m., Dalrymple reported the camp was cleared. Morton County Sheriff’s Department reported activists shot twice at law enforcement.

“To the best of my knowledge we’ve had no serious injuries,” Dalrymple said in a press conference. “The situation has been well handled from start to finish. The really important point is that the sheriff’s office made it very clear that they were being asked to voluntarily go to a different location that is not private property. They had more than ample time yesterday and today to do that. So, those that did not go obviously did not intend to go and we had to deal with that as we have.”

“During the course of moving protesters south, law enforcement officers used a long range acoustic device (LRAD), which transmits a high-pitch tone and is used by law enforcement to disperse crowds,” Morton County Sheriff’s Department reported. “In addition, they they have had to deploy pepper spray due to protesters throwing projectiles at officers and refusing to comply with officer’s orders.”

For the activists, the “line in the sand” was their last stand.

Activist at the frontline – photo by Sacheen Seitcham West Coast Women Warrior Media Cooperative

An officer on the megaphone continuously shouted orders for activists to back up, not to approach officers or they would be arrested or sprayed with pepper. Some activists shouted threats, but were reminded to stay peaceful, stay in prayer. A bonfire was lit before noon, which halted law enforcement’s advance.

“The protesters are not being peaceful or prayerful,” Cass County Sheriff Paul Laney said. “Law enforcement has been very methodical in moving ahead slowly as to not escalate the situation. However, the protesters are using very dangerous means to slow us down. Their aggressive tactics include using horses, fire and trying to flank us with horses and people.”

Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier’s threats against the activists are not empty.

“Morton County has entrusted me to uphold the law and that is exactly what I intend to do,” Kirchmeier said. “Yet I am being asked by outsiders and millionaire Hollywood actors to let agitators and rioters walk onto private property, destroy equipment, and endanger lives. And, so-called environmentalists are asking me to turn my head and allow this to happen. We have patrolled the county and enforced the law because our number one priority is public safety, separating the unlawful actors from legal protestors.

Activist chained to steering wheel – photo by Sacheen Seitcham West Coast Women Warrior Media Cooperative

“This is not about the pipeline. This is not about those who wish to legally protest. This is about the rule of law.”

A message from Shailene Woodley, also a Hollywood movie star and an activist who was arrested by Morton County Sheriff’s Department, strip-searched, and plead not guilty this week to misdemeanor charges, called for support of Standing Rock.

“We must hold firm – those at Standing Rock and we around the planet. This is just the beginning. Not an end. They are losing. The peaceful protests are working, the hate and attacks of the police and military are turning more people against them each minute. We need to continue to document and share the stories as each emerges, even as we stand with Standing Rock.”