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“We’re Going To Kill All Of You”

White woman threatens Somali-Americans outside of Walmart, fifth hate crime incident in 2017

By C.S. Hagen
FARGO – Three Fargoans, originally from Somalia, were stopped Tuesday evening outside of Walmart by a white woman from Mapleton and threatened while dozens of onlookers did nothing to intervene.

The women who were verbally attacked, Rowda Soyan, Sarah and Laleyla Hassan, were enjoying a day off from work when a blonde woman approached. Before they could enter the store around 5:30 p.m., the incident began, and video footage started halfway through the exchange.

Screenshot of white woman threatening Somali-Americans

“You’re a racist person, and I’m not going back to my country,” Soyan said in near-perfect English in the video.

“I’m an American,” the white woman, who later commented on Facebook about the Youtube video, said. According to the post her name is Amber Elizabeth Hensley, and she worked for Horab & Wentz, CPA.

“What are you going to do?” Soyan said.

“We’re going to kill all of you, we’re going to kill every one of you fucking Muslims.”

“I am making a video and I am going to show it to the police,” Soyan said.

“Do you think the police care? Why are you in our country anyway?”

The incident marks the fifth such case this year, Hukun Abdullahi, co-founder of United African Youths, and founder of Afro American Development Association, said.

“It is happening, and I think this must be stopped,” Abdullahi said. “I don’t see any leaders condemning this issue. This will keep continuing.”

During the incident, people entering and exiting the Walmart on 13th Avenue stopped to watch, but no one tried to help.

“No one stood up for us, nobody even said a word, it was a scary moment for all of us,” Soyan said. “She went on and on, and it was really really scary. Out of nowhere, she just came and said those hateful words. It was an ‘Are you out of your mind’ moment?”

Soyan called police, and a report was made under case number 17-61490. Fargo Police were contacted for comment, but were not available.

License plate and car of the unidentified white woman – photo provided by Rowda Soyan

“Her car had a Trump sign, and she said he’s the one who is going to send us back to our country,” Soyan said.

Hensley apologized for the “horrible things that I said to the two ladies at Walmart,” according to her Facebook post. “It was not a Christian-like thing to do at all, and wish I could take it back, but I lost my cool, and I can’t.”

In the apology, Hensley said that the women parked too close to her car, and refused to move.

“I asked her again and she swore at me, calling me a fat bitch, to that I informed her that I was a Christian and asked if she knew who Jesus was.”

Tuesday’s incident wasn’t the first time Soyan has been attacked by racists. Her car was spray painted earlier in the year, and police did nothing to help, she said. Insurance wouldn’t cover the damages, so she had to pay out of pocket.

Such attacks aren’t labelled as hate crimes in Fargo, as officially, hate crimes don’t exist, Barry Nelson, of the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition, said.

“I guess as far as North Dakota Human Rights Coalition, this is not what should be representing Fargo to other Fargoans,” Nelson said. “This is Fargo on Fargo crime, and it is unconscionable. We must keep exposing this so that we as a community work actively to eliminate this.

Amber Elizabeth Hensley’s apology on Facebook page

“This should not be happening to any of us.”

An assault on a Somali-American on July 2 in Fargo that is being investigated as a possible hate crime by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, was virtually swept under the rug, Nelson said.

James Patrick Billiot, 32, Fargo, and Justin William Rifanburg, 28, West Fargo, assaulted Shuib Ali, who was moving into an apartment when the attack occurred after racial epithets were said, according to police reports. Nelson said the two men were charged with simple assault, a misdemeanor, and were fined $250 for their crime, and the victim was not alerted to the court case.

“He found out a week later what happened,” Nelson said. “This happened at his home. I think police did what they could do, but I’m really questioning our judicial system. I don’t know if it’s a lack of awareness, of course, we don’t have any hate crime laws, and it doesn’t rise to a level of definition.”

On August 2, North Dakota United Against Hate Crime is planning to hold a rally to generate support for victims of hate crime, and to start generating momentum behind getting a hate crime law passed — once again. Nelson made attempts ten years ago with the state legislature for a legal recognition of hate crimes, but his efforts went nowhere, he said.

“The response in the legislature was that we have laws that cover these things, but they don’t understand the layers of hate crime,” Nelson said.

North Dakota Nice: Police Chiefs Kick Women Out of Restaurant

November 23, 2016 / CSHagen / 0 Comments

Actively defending the Dakota Access Pipeline, police force two activists from restaurant after asking them to come to their table

By C.S. Hagen
MANDAN – Cass County Sheriff Paul Laney and Mandan Police Chief Jason Ziegler called Liz George and Kana Newell over to their table while they were eating at the Chinese restaurant Rice Bowl.

And then, in true “North Dakota nice” spirit, they kicked them from the premises. Before kicking the two women out, they threatened arrest. George was wearing her “Water is Life” badge on the back of her clothing.

“We were eating dinner and on our way out of Mandan when two police officers, the sheriff and one other called us over to talk,” George reported. According to George’s Facebook page, she is from Michigan.

Cass County Sheriff Paul Laney – still shot of video feed

“His [Laney] first question was, ‘How long are you going to be here for?’ To which we replied, ‘As long as the pipeline is proceeding,’” Newell reported. Newell’s Facebook page reports she is from Australia. “He immediately replied with ‘Well, that’s just not going to happen.’

“We asked why he thought that, and we were genuinely curious to the police perspective and want to bridge the gap between the two sides,” Newell said.

“We tried to have a polite conversation with them listening to their side and when they didn’t like what we were saying they ordered us to leave the restaurant saying that we had two minutes to leave before we would be arrested,” George said.

Recent events were brought up during the discussion, including Sunday night’s conflict when law enforcement used rubber bullets, concussion grenades, tear gas, pepper spray and a high-powered water cannon against activists.

“Things got heated and we asked them to hold space for us to speak, as the conversation was basically his voice speaking over ours,” Newell said. “We tried to tell him our perspective, but he wasn’t open to listen and ordered us to leave as soon as the conversation wasn’t going his way.”

And then, Laney threatened arrest, Newell said.

“What are you going to arrest us for?” George said on the video.

“Disorderly conduct,” Ziegler said.

“We asked you to leave so that these gentlemen can enjoy their meals and we can enjoy our meals,” Ziegler said. “This is a private restaurant.”

“We tried to have a conversation and it’s not going anywhere,” Laney said.

Mandan Police Chief Jason Ziegler confronting women at dining restaurant – still shot of video feed

“Okay, can I just say that you guys called us over to talk to us?” George said. “So you have authority…?”

She was interrupted when Ziegler stood and confronted her, forcing her back.

“I’m going to tell you one more time to leave this restaurant. Go ahead, video tape me,” Ziegler said.

“Now you got about two seconds to go, okay guys,” Laney said. “Let us eat our dinner in peace. Have a good night.”

An elderly woman watching nearby told the two women to go home.

“We are home.”

The women are known as water protectors by the Standing Rock Sioux, and as protesters by law enforcement. They’re part of the months-long controversy surrounding the USD 3.8 billion Dakota Access Pipeline, which is slated to run less than a mile away from the Standing Rock’s reservation. Dakota Access LLC is the subsidiary of Energy Transfer Partners, which combined with Sunoco Logistics Partners on Monday. Energy Transfer Equity controls both companies, according to media outlet Fortune.

Both Laney and Ziegler were contacted for comment late Tuesday evening in this developing story. The Rice Bowl was also contacted for comment, but the restaurant had already closed for the evening.

Attack Dog Handlers in the Wrong, No Charges Pending, Lawyers Threatened by FBI

October 26, 2016 / CSHagen / 0 Comments

“Today is the day that they’re going to try and remove everybody”

By C.S. Hagen
MANDAN – An investigation launched by Morton County Sheriff’s Department has proven the dog handlers on September 3 were not properly licensed to perform security work in the Peace Garden State.

But because security personnel cannot be identified, no charges are forthcoming from county law enforcement, according to Morton County Sheriff’s Department.

“Through this investigation it has become evident that many security companies have been hired to do security work for the DAPL pipeline project,” Morton County Captain Jay Gruebele said. “Although lists of security employees have been provided, there is no way of confirming whether the list is accurate or if names have been purposefully withheld.”

Dog handlers have come and gone, Gruebele said, making it impossible to identify who was involved.”

Seven dogs and seven handlers were involved during the September 3 dog attacks, Gruebele said. The attack dogs were deployed in an attempt to keep the activists under control.

The owner of Ohio-based Frost Kennels, a security firm that specializes in guard dogs, said they were at the scene on September 3.

“We went out there to do a job and we did it,” Bob Frost, the owner, said. “So we just said f*ck it, and got our dogs, and tried to make a bridge between them and the workers. We did not go out to attack people, but they knocked down a fence and entered private property. I tell you what, if someone came onto my own yard, I’d have the right to shoot them, it’s the law.”

Today, Wednesday, October 26, may be the day Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier plans to shut the activists down, Bruce Ellison, a long-term criminal defense lawyer, said. He heard the rumor second hand, and the report needs validation, he said.

“The Sheriff today said that today is the day that they’re going to try and remove everybody,” Ellison said. He is also the legal team coordinator of the Lawyer’s Guild Mass Defense Committee.

Ellison was disappointed with the news that no charges are pending.

“The sheriff’s department seems to be very inclined towards not doing that, not actually seeking to promote charges,” Ellison said. “The whole actions of the law enforcement seem to be geared toward going after people who were the victims rather than the assailants.

Dakota Access Pipeline private security - online sources

Dakota Access Pipeline private security with attack dog on September 3 – online sources

“The wounds that those dogs inflicted were horrific, and completely unnecessary and unprovoked. It is disconcerting that the people who have sworn to protect the people seem more interested in protecting corporations once again.”

The Lawyer’s Guild is preparing litigation. “We don’t intend to let this go. We are also very also concerned about the fact the Sheriff’s Department stood by and watched and the federal authorities at least have taken the position that there is no right to law enforcement protection, which is outrageous.

“It’s part of the systemic problem that people have as they try to exercise their First Amendment rights.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s fingerprints are all over the controversy, Ellison said. “This is a domestic security operation, and it was an FBI agent to one of our attorneys who mentioned that they didn’t see any violation of human rights or criminal, and that law enforcement has no obligation to protect people.”

The FBI is also investigating the firm’s lawyers, he said, and delivered an ominous threat.

“The FBI delivered an implicit threat to people out in the fields resisting the pipeline should not be surprised if some landowner shoots them,” Ellison said. “This is very outrageous. People are in the situation where they don’t have anywhere they can turn for protection.”

The entire area surrounding the new camp is militarized, and law enforcement is slowly circling closer, Ellison said. Hundreds of police officers from around the country are being brought in.

The Morton County Sheriff’s Department report has been forwarded to the Morton County State’s Attorney’s office and the North Dakota Private Investigators and Security Board for possible charges. The report also included an evaluation along the pipeline easement where the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe has repeatedly said hold significant sacred sites.

“Morton County is in concurrence with the North Dakota State Archaeologist’s findings that their inspection ‘yielded no evidence of human remains or significant sites’ along the DAPL construction corridor,” Gruebele said.

The Morton County Sheriff’s Department received no information on reports of bite injuries. At least six activists were bitten by dogs, according to Angela Bibens, camp attorney.

In addition, the Federal Aviation Administration instituted a no-fly zone at Cannonball yesterday, citing temporary hazardous conditions. The restrictions start at ground level and up to 4,000 feet, according to the FAA.

“No pilots may operate an aircraft in the areas covered by this NOTAM,” the FAA reported. The FAA made an exception for aircraft flown by law enforcement for their tactical operation center.