Bodies on Deadly Dakota Pipeline Begin

By Deborah Dupré  

The North Dakota oil pipeline battle ground was the scene of two victories against Big Oil on Wednesday. An Indigenous human rights worker crippled Dakota Access’s $3.8 billion construction project for the day by locking himself to heavy machinery. Over 1450 people have vowed to put their bodies on the line to stop the pipeline from poisoning the Missouri River and Mississippi River watershed. Protesters won in court yesterday when a judge ruled against the oil company’s restraining order, an attempt to restrict the demonstrators’ basic American rights, a “drastic” measure, the judge stated.

The Dakota pipleline protesters’ double-win comes only a week after the U.S. Army, Homeland Security and Dakota Access partnered for a deadly dirty trick on demonstrators. The U.S. petrochemical military industrial complaex forcibly removed all drinking water from the protesters’ site. (Army Backs Dakota Access Chemical Mafia to Brazenly Target Protesters)

Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger rejected Dakota Access’s motion for a restraining order against the protesters on grounds that the company “was seeking an ‘extraordinary and drastic remedy’ that should only be issued in exceptional circumstances,” Des Moines Register reported. Ebinger scheduled a hearing for Friday “on a request by Dakota Access to determine whether a preliminary injunction should be ordered to restrict the activists.”

Jane Kleeb, president of Bold Alliance said, ”Citizens are protecting property rights and water supplies from a risky and unnecessary pipeline,” “We live in the United States where Big Oil does not get to restrict our freedom of speech or the right to assemble. Basic American rights.”

Police ordered that protesters stay 100 yards away from the man chained to machinery while they worked to “free” him Wednesday.

“We are at the point where men and women of conscience must step forward,” states a Bakken Pipeline Pledge of Resistance, that 1450 people have signed, vowing to put their bodies on the line to stop the project.

“Police are making up lies to demonize the protesters, much like they did during Occupy Wall Street, say Cenk Uygur and John Iadarola, hosts of The Young Turks.

Standing Rock Sioux leaders have been leading a protest of the pipeline construction for months, attracting thousands of indigenous and non-indigenous people who have journeyed across the country to join the tribe in prayer-ins near the construction site. The situation escalated mid-August when police arrested a dozen protesters for coming too close to construction.

Tuesday, the Sioux tribe welcomed six more tribes from across the country as more journey to Standing Rock Reservation to stand in solidarity against the Dakota Access Pipeline.

“We are standing with our relatives in a peaceful manner to express our concern. Our concern for responsible decisions,” says JoDe Goudy, Yakima Nation Chairman.

“If built, the Bakken Pipeline will produce carbon emissions equivalent to fourteen new coal-fired power plants. If the pipeline breaks and leaks (it’s really just a matter of time), it will occur in the Mississippi River watershed, which is the water lifeline for a huge portion of our country,” the protesters’ pledge states. “This decision affects all of us, wherever we live.”

Last week, the U.S. Army and Homeland Security partenered with Big Oil in one of the chemical mafia’s dirtiest tricks in history against protesters. The petrochemical military industrial complex targeted 4000 Native Americans and others in sweltering heat, protesting the chemical mafia’s plan to poison 18 million people at the cost of $3.8 billion by removing all drinking water at the demonstration.

A federal judge is expected to issue a ruling by Sept. 9 as to whether or not the Army Corps of Engineers violated the Standing Rock Sioux’s treaty rights in approving the pipeline.