Neil Young wants Obama to end ‘violence’ at pipeline protest

The commissioner of the state’s Department of Veterans Affairs, who appeared at the West Fargo event, said he was anxious about the involvement of individuals who have been in war situations. The 34 deputies in his department are pulling similar shifts, he said, even with help from more than 1,200 officers from North Dakota and nine other states. He said that first responders will no longer be responsible for rendering aid to those who stay. Instead, the order serves as a warning that the camp’s location makes it likely to flood if ice jams form on the river, as they likely will.

“Veterans Stand for Standing Rock” plans to gather Sunday through Wednesday and form a “human shield” around the demonstrators.

“Veterans within the state North Dakota, we really question that as to where their cause truly is”, he said. “We’re not going to be going anywhere, especially in the middle of a blizzard in North Dakota”.

Herr said authorities will be “passively” enforcing the governor’s order, meaning there will not be a roadblock, but anyone entering the area will be notified that they are trespassing and penalized.

In an operations order created for the event, organizers emphasized the need to stay peaceful, despite the increasingly contentious clashes between protesters and police.

Before issuing his own order, Dalrymple had called the Corps’ position “very puzzling”. The Corps also is encouraging people to move to land identified by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe as a winter camp.

Fong said the executive order is a sort of line in the sand and leaves it up to individuals camping in the area to get out.

Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier added to the pressure by issuing a video statement urging protesters to avoid subjecting themselves to “life-threatening conditions” by remaining exposed to the elements with little shelter. “This is bigger and takes way more political clout than what the county has to offer”.

The Army Corps did not answer questions Monday from Forum News Service seeking clarification on how the closure would be enforced. The USACE has clearly stated that it does not intend to forcibly remove campers from federal property.

According to webzine Variance, Mensa will return to Standing Rock on December 4, the day before the federal officials say they will close the protesters’ campsite.

Reuters reported that, as of Tuesday morning, no cars that had been carrying such supplies had been made to turn back. An additional element of this so-called emergency evacuation was explicit instruction that law enforcement should turn away any and all supplies meant for the camps, including food and medical supplies.

The group earlier approved $10 million in emergency spending.

Jack Dalrymple ordered protesters Monday to evacuate their encampments where they have been waging a protracted campaign to oppose the Dakota Access oil pipeline.

The $3.8bn, 1,172-mile (1,885km) pipeline project is complete except for a segment that is supposed to run under Lake Oahe, a reservoir formed by a dam on the Missouri River.

It would cut through the Sioux Tribe’s reservation, and the tribe says it could potentially destroy sacred lands and prevent access to clean drinking water.